Northeastern Student Who Survived Marathon Bombing Killed in Dubai Crash

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Two Northeastern University seniors studying abroad, one of whom survived the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, were killed in a car crash in Dubai, the school confirmed Monday.

President Joseph Aoun informed the Northeastern community via email that Victoria McGrath, of Weston, Connecticut, and Priscilla Perez Torres, of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, had died in car crash while traveling in the United Arab Emirates.

“Victoria and Priscilla were vibrant, beloved members of our community, and their passing leaves a grievous absence in our community and in our hearts. This is a heartbreaking loss to their families, friends, and to all of us in the Northeastern family,” Aoun wrote.

McGrath was near the finish line at the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and suffered severe injuries the Tsarnaev brothers’ makeshift pressure cooker bombs sent shrapnel into her leg. First responders reportedly saved McGrath’s life by tying a t-shirt tourniquet around her leg to slow the bleeding.

“We are stunned, shocked and heartbroken,” Jill McGrath, Victoria’s mother, wrote in an email to NBC News.

“May we all join together in sympathy and heartfelt support for the McGrath and Perez Torres families, and for Victoria’s and Priscilla’s friends and classmates. Victoria and Priscilla touched many of our lives, and we will miss them terribly. Our prayers are with their families and loved ones,” Aoun wrote.

In his email, Aoun also said Torres was “passionate about travel and working on issues related to nutrition and women’s health.”