Boston Marathon Bombing Survivor Killed in Dubai Car Crash
March 08--The Boston Marathon survivor community has been left shattered by the death of 23-year-old Victoria McGrath, a gutsy symbol of hope who nearly lost a leg in the first bombing only to die this past weekend in a car crash in Dubai while on a spring break vacation.
First responders, a good Samaritan who helped save the Northeastern University senior nearly three years ago and others recalled McGrath's beaming smile and helping hand for those struggling to get back on their feet after the marathon blasts. Her roommate, Priscilla Perez Torres, also died in the crash, the college said.
"Victoria was a beautiful, sweet person," said Roseann Sdoia, who lost part of her right leg in the marathon bombings. "It was hard not to know her due to her smile. My heart goes out to her family who had suffered enough tragedy."
Carlos Arredondo, who rushed into the chaos that day to help save the wounded, said the extended marathon family was sharing their grief into the night.
"Did this really happen? She was such a young lady. She was always smiling and being so kind," Arredondo said. "Life is so fragile. We came together so many times to go through the healing process. Now we're all trying to deal with the tragedy of losing beautiful Victoria."
McGrath was only 5 feet away from the first bomb that went off on Boylston Street on marathon day, April 15, 2013. An inch-long hunk of shrapnel cut through her left leg, slicing open an artery and leaving her crying in pain.
Good Samaritan Bruce Mendelsohn quickly tied a tourniquet around her leg, and Boston firefighter Jimmy Plourde scooped her up and brought her to a stretcher in what became one of the iconic images of the day.
"I will live my life as Victoria lived the last three years of her life after the marathon -- and that's with an intense and deep appreciation of life itself," Mendelsohn told the Herald yesterday. "I will miss her like a hole in my soul and as a representation of something good that we all did.
"We did this -- I didn't do it -- we as a community did this," he added. "We helped her as a community, and we've lost a real emblem of hope and a sign of what we can do when we do something good together."
Plourde said his family was devastated "by this unimaginable tragedy."
"After the Boston Marathon bombing, Victoria became a major part of my life, as well as my family's," Plourde said. "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 4/15/13."
McGrath, a dean's list student, was poised to graduate Northeastern this spring with a bachelor's degree in finance and international affairs. Last year, she worked as a private wealth management analyst intern at Goldman Sachs.
Jack Encarnacao contributed to this report.
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