Woman Killed by Drunken Driver
This morning, the Dallas Morning News reported a car accident that was caused by a drunk driver.
On Sept. 11, 2001, a family appointment kept Ms. Marilyn Gates from boarding Flight 11, one of her regular flights. After takeoff from Boston, the Los Angeles-bound plan was hijacked and flown into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City.
But the New Hampshire woman couldn't dodge fate – or tragedy – forever. Less than five years after escaping the nation's worst terrorist attack, the 52-year-old was killed when a drunken driver ran a red light and slammed into her car on a North Texas roadway. The crash injured two others. 
The driver, Stephen David Mole, was sentenced this month to 30 years in prison for intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. The 54-year-old Keller man must serve at least half of his sentence because a Denton County jury found that he had used his car as a deadly weapon.
Ms. Gates' unexpected death sent shock waves through her close-knit family and those who came to feel close to her through the criminal investigation.
"She cheated death once but came down here and couldn't cheat it again," said Brent Robbins, an investigator for the Denton County district attorney's office who is credited with working tirelessly on the case.
