Canadian boxer ‘had been drinking and was driving over 90mph’ when he crashed his Ferrari in Dubai and killed Boston Marathon bombing survivor

By Valerie Edwards and Hannah Parry For Dailymail.com and Tom Wyke for MailOnline 07:11 BST eight Mar 2016, updated 17:25 BST eight Mar two thousand sixteen

• The driver of the Ferrari that crashed killing all four inwards in Dubai early Sunday had been drinking and speeding according to reports
• Among the victims was Victoria McGrath, 23, who was injured in the Boston Marathon bombing
• Her roomie Priscilla Perez Torres, 23, was also killed in the crash. The two attended Northeastern and were set to graduate in May
• Canadian boxer Cody Nixon, 24, who was driving the vehicle, also died, as did his 27-year-old friend James Protuondo
• Dubai’s chief traffic prosecutor Salah Bu Farousha said that tests displayed all four had been drinking
• Witnesses at the crash scene said the car, which seated just two, was driving no slower than 90mph

The driver of the Ferrari that crashed in Dubai killing all four inwards the vehicle early Sunday had reportedly been drinking and was speeding at the time of the crash.

Canadian boxer Cody Nixon, 24, who was driving the vehicle, was killed in the crash alongside his 27-year-old friend James Protuondo.

Victoria McGrath, 23, and her roomie, Priscilla Perez Torres, 23, who both attended Northeastern University and were in Dubai for spring break also died.

McGrath was one of the more than two hundred sixty people injured in the terrorist attacks at the Boston Marathon in April 2013. She and Torres were preparing to graduate this May.

Scroll down for movie

Dubai’s chief traffic prosecutor Salah Bu Farousha said that tests demonstrated all four had been drinking, and The National UAE reports that police obtained CCTV footage from the hotel all four were staying at displaying them getting into the two-seater car and driving off.

Witnesses at the crash scene said the car was driving no slower than 90mph. Police are still waiting to confirm the actual speed.

The news was especially devastating for the firefighter who rescued McGrath at the scene of the marathon, James Plourde.

‘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 Four/15/13,’ Plourde said in a statement, according to the Boston Globe.

McGrath and Torres were set to travel to Bali to proceed their spring break this week, according to Torres’ cousin.

McGrath’s heartbroken mother Jill said the family was still reeling from the shock of losing their daughter.

She also said her daughter did not have ‘a single note of bitterness’ about the deadly two thousand thirteen attack.

A post on Nixon’s Instagram account shows him posing in a yellow Ferrari on Saturday, tagged with the location ‘Dubai Desert’.

Nixon captioned it: ‘Picked up the Ferrari! Don’t worry I won’t speed ;)’

Nixon, who represented Ontario in the Canadian Boxing Championships in 2012, had rented the car shortly before it crashed into a lamppost in the neighborhood of Jumeirah Lakes Towers.

The three passengers were all thrown from the vehicle.

In 2013, McGrath, from Weston, Connecticut, was just five feet away from the finish line when the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, blasting shrapnel through her gam.

Her life was saved by former army officer Bruce Mendhelson who made a tourniquet to stop her bleeding out. She was carried to safety by a Boston fireman in a picture which became iconic of the tragic events on that day.

She later met both of them again while she was recovering from her injuries at Tufts Medical Center.

McGrath suffered serious nerve harm in the attacks but later said that she felt ‘fortunate’ to have escaped a major injury.

‘I lay awake in bed every night and think about it,’ she told Today, a week after the bombings. ‘People I know lost their gams. I don’t get why I was still fortunate in this case.’

After a lengthy recovery, she returned to school where she was studying business, administration and accounting.

The talented student, who spoke two languages was on vacation when the tragic car crash occurred.

‘We are stunned, shocked and heartbroken,’ McGrath’s mother, IBM executive Jill, told NECN.

Both McGrath and Torres, of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico were members of the class of 2016.

‘Victoria and Priscilla were vibrant, beloved members of our community, and their passing leaves a grievous absence in our community and in our hearts,’ Northeastern President Joseph E. Aoun said in an email to the school community.

‘Each were kind, talented youthfull women, with exceptional futures before them,’ Boston.com reported.

Friends, family and fellow Boston bombings survivors have paid tribute to the ‘beautiful soul.’

Brothers JP & Paul Norden, who both lost a gam in the attacks, spoke of the special bond they collective with her as fellow survivors.

In a Facebook post on a survivors page, they said: ‘Life can switch in an instant. we know this only too well. Those who survived the Boston Marathon bombings of April 15, two thousand thirteen all had a special bond. our hearts are intense tonight after hearing that one of our fellow survivors lost their life in a car accident.

‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of twenty three year old Victoria McGrath. A youthfull vigorous beautiful soul gone too soon.’

Boston bombing hero Carlos Arredondo, who dragged victims to safety and helped the wounded, told necn he knew McGrath from attending survivor events.

‘My heart goes out to the family and friends,’ he said. ‘She was always a very kind person to all of us. We all miss her today.’

Tufts Medical Center, where McGrath spent a lot of time recovering, said: ‘Our hearts ache for the family & friends of our former patient Victoria McGrath. She made a lasting influence on those who knew her.’

Related movie: