An Anchorage woman survived one run-in with an alleged drunken driver. She didn't survive the second.

Family and friends of 86-year-old Donna Hobson sound bewildered when they talk about her death. She died last month, days after a 17-year-old who investigators say was drunk behind the wheel crashed head-on into a Volvo occupied by Hobson and her husband.

It was the couple's second encounter with an alleged drunken driver in Anchorage.

In summer 2000, Hobson, then 69, her husband, Bobby, and their poodle were walking on a pathway near O'Malley Road and the Old Seward Highway when a Chevrolet pickup rounded a curve and struck Donna.

She never fully recovered, according to family.

"To have her life ended by a drunk driver, it's still something we're coming to terms with," said Ken Freeman, Hobson's grandson. "It's difficult to reconcile how it could happen to her twice."

Donna Hobson was a lifelong Alaskan who grew up in Anchorage. Family wrote in her obituary that she held great pride in her work ethic and took on jobs at a young age, including stints at stores started by longtime Alaska families. Her family was among those business pioneers — they established Bagoy's Florist.

The flower shop is no longer in the family, said Linda Freeman, Hobson's daughter. But Hobson created and ran many other businesses over the years, including Interior Shipping, which involved shipping goods in bulk to rural towns like Port Alsworth and Iliamna. It was among her favorite endeavors, her daughter said.

Hobson had to stop working for a time when she was seriously injured in 2000. Alfred Meyer, whose blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, prosecutors said, knocked Hobson out of her shoes with his truck — she landed on her face 20 feet away in weeds and water.

"I remember watching the news and seeing her shoes on the path," Linda Freeman said. "My father saved her life. He kept searching for her, found her and pulled her out of the water."

Meyer's truck got stuck in a pond. He and a passenger left the vehicle — and Hobson — behind, according to Anchorage Daily News reports at the time.

Hobson, who had been recovering from knee surgery when she was hit, suffered two broken hips, a broken leg, a punctured lung, a broken pelvis, broken tailbone and broken ribs. She spent five weeks in the hospital.

The injuries had a dramatic impact on Hobson physically, but she kept a positive attitude, Linda Freeman said.

Hobson attended Meyer's change-of-plea hearing in March 2001. According to a Daily News story, she walked into the courtroom with a cane, expressed happiness at having survived and sympathy for the family and friends of Meyer, who pleaded no contest to first-degree assault and leaving the scene of an accident.

"It's nice to be alive and walking," Hobson told a reporter.

Flora Amukon said she met Hobson  in 1972 when Amukon was 15. Amukon's parents had been Interior Shipping customers; they ordered items to sell at a grocery store in Scammon Bay, Amukon said.

The then-teenager moved to Anchorage to attend school here. Amukon had bad experiences with several families, she said, before her parents asked the Hobsons to take her in. Donna and Bob bought her clothes and glasses, and filled her room with new furniture and a telephone, she said.

Amukon went through several phases during which she lost touch with Hobson. They reconnected after Amukon heard about the accident in 2000. Amukon visited Hobson in the hospital, and Hobson's demeanor hadn't changed despite the injuries.

"She enjoyed working and helping people, so she just moved on," Amukon said.

Hobson was back in Amukon's life recently. They spoke frequently, so Amukon worried when a week in February passed without a call. That's when she phoned, and Bob Hobson told her the news, she said.

Mohamad Azzam, 17, has been charged with manslaughter, assault and DUI stemming from the Feb. 16 wreck that fatally injured Hobson.

Investigators reported that "from the scene it was obvious" that Azzam's Subaru Forester was headed north in Elmore Road's southbound lanes before colliding head-on with the Hobsons' Volvo.

[Fatal Elmore Road crash leads to manslaughter, DUI charges against teen driver]

Court records show Azzam posted $2,500 bail and was released to family members approved as third-party custodians in the case, which is in its beginnings.

Meyer, reached by phone last week, was surprised to hear about Hobson's manner of death. He asked for more time to process the news.

Hobson may have lived for many more years despite her physical condition — she was "as sharp as a tack," Linda Freeman said.

The family said they want people to know about Hobson's positive, hardworking attitude, but they also hope her story helps people recognize the consequences of drunken driving.

"There are tons of options," Ken Freeman said. "Take that extra step and don't get behind the wheel. It affects everyone."