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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, March 8 (UPI) -- Boston Marathon bombing survivor Victoria McGrath was killed in a Dubai car crash, officials said Monday. McGrath, 23, a Northeastern University student set to graduate later this year, was with friend Priscilla Perez on vacation when they were killed in a car crash.
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"We are stunned, shocked and heartbroken," Victoria's mother, Jill McGrath, told NBC News.
A photo of Boston firefighter James Plourde carrying McGrath, with her leg cut and bloody, from the site of the bombing turned her into a moving symbol of hope from the tragedy.
"It's been said that I helped to save her life, but the truth is Victoria saved my life after the marathon as her love, support and friendship helped myself and my family deal with the acts of 4/5/13," Plourde wrote in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the McGrath and Perez Torres families as they deal with this unimaginable tragedy."
The Weston, Conn., native spent weeks recovering at Tufts Medical Center with nerve damage in her left leg.
"She made a lasting impact on those who knew her," Tufts Medical Center said in a statement.
"The caregivers at Tufts are heartbroken," Tufts spokesperson Brook Hynes told ABC News on Monday.
Hynes said McGrath "touched our lives and whom we cared for."
"She was definitely a bright light," Hynes said. "And her family was wonderful, and we all got to know each other during a really tragic time."
