A college student who was badly wounded during the Boston Marathon bombing — and whose gutsy determination to get better inspired other survivors — was killed along with a classmate in car crash in the United Arab Emirates.
The deaths of bombing survivor Victoria McGrath and fellow student Priscilla Perez Torres were confirmed Monday by her mother and Northeastern University in Boston.
“We are stunned, shocked and heartbroken,” McGrath’s mother, Jill McGrath, wrote in an email to NBC News.
In its statement, Northeastern extended condolences but gave no details about the deadly accident.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Victoria McGrath and Priscilla Perez Torres in this extremely difficult time,” the university said.
McGrath became an iconic symbol of the tragedy when a photo of the young student being carried to safety by a Boston firefighter rocketed around the world.
The then 20-year-old McGrath was standing five feet away from where the first bomb exploded at the finish line. An inch-long piece of shrapnel pierced one of her legs and sent her sprawling on the pavement, screaming in pain. Later, McGrath was reunited with firefighter Jimmy Plourde and the three other strangers who helped saved her life on April 15, 2013. “I’m so thankful,” a tearful McGrath said from her room at Tufts Medical Center in a segment that aired on TODAY. “You guys are so brave.” This article originally appeared on NBCNews.com.
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