Dubai: Police say a complete disregard for safety killed four people — including two Canadians — who were crammed into a speeding two-seater Ferrari sports car when it slammed into a lamppost on Sunday.
The vehicle was sliced in two, and violently flung the occupants from the disintegrating wreckage.
Police are attempting to piece together the speed of the high-performance car as it ripped along Al Sarayah Street in Jumeirah Lakes Towers at “massive speed” around 12.40am on Sunday before the deadly collision.
Boston bombing survivor killed in Dubai Ferrari crash
Three died instantly, while the fourth died later in hospital.
In the blink of an eye, it marked the end of an adventurous life of Canadian boxer and so-called global adventurer Cody Nixon, 24, who was on holiday in Dubai when his life was cut short in the accident.
Nixon represented his home province of Ontario at the Canadian Boxing Championships in 2012 and has since travelled around the world. Friends commenting on social media said he was a free spirit.
Unconfirmed reports say one of the four deceased was Nixon’s cousin. Dubai police said two of the occupants were male and two others were female. It was not clear who was driving.
Confirmation
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the two Canadian citizens who passed away in the United Arab Emirates. Canadian consular officials in the United Arab Emirates are in contact with local authorities and are providing consular assistance to the families,” stated the consular statement to Gulf News on Monday.
A phone call by Gulf News on Monday to Nixon’s former training haunt, Motor City Boxing in Oshawa on the outskirts of Toronto, was met with a pre-recorded answering message that simply said, “building champions in Oshawa since 1993”.
On its Facebook page, the boxing club lamented later in the day the fatal accident: “It’s with heavy hearts that we bid farewell to Cody C-4 Nixon. Cody lost his life yesterday while vacationing overseas. RIP Cody.”
Coach Don Nelson told Canada’s national television broadcaster CBC News that Nixon was a talent with a gift for pugilism.
Nice guy
“At the club, Cody was a genuine nice guy known for keeping us laughing, entertained and occasionally on our toes. Although Cody had been out of the sport for about four years, he was part of the boxing family,” Nelson said. “We are truly saddened to hear this news. Our condolences go out this his family and friends for a young life lost much too soon.”
Nixon’s adventures were illustrated by his world travels in pictures uploaded to his TravelwithCody Instagram page where the last image he posted was himself with a yellow Ferrari.
For his Ferrari image posted to Instagram Nixon penned: “Just landed into Dubai picked up the Ferrari! Don’t worry I won’t speed ;)”
One eyewitness to the grisly accident scene wrote in reply to Nixon’s post: “Gosh ... RIP was standing in my balcony smoking a cigarette and saw all the scene couldn’t believe what was going on.”
Followers commenting on the Ferrari post, left tributes.
“I’m ever so sorry for you and the others too..,” one follower wrote, while another remarked, “this is so sad.”
