Horror as American law student Aya Hadir Ghais, 19, dies in fireball crash in Abu Dhabi

An American teenage student has died after the Lamborghini she was driving crashed and caught fire in Abu Dhabi.

Authorities in the United Arab Emirate's capital said that Aya Hadir Ghais, 19, was travelling in the high-powered vehicle alone when the horrific accident happened.

Despite firefighters arriving on the scene in Defence Road within four minutes and extinguishing the fire, she could not be freed in time.

The teenager, who friends say dreamed of one day being a mother, had been married for two years.

Her Lebanese husband flew to his home country on Sunday to prepare for the funeral.

Beauty: Mrs Ghais was married to husband Makram when she was 17 and the couple lived in the UAE

Family: Aya with her sister Sarah (pictured left) had left her family in Lebanon to go with her husband to Abu Dhabi

Loss: The young woman, who holds both American and Lebanese passports, was killed in her sports car on Saturday afteoon

The couple married when Aya was 17 and she took up her studies at the Paris Sorbonne University in Abu Dhabi when he moved there to work for a UAE-based company.

Aya is the eldest sibling to a sister, Sarah, 18, and two brothers, all of whom live with her parents in Lebanon.

Speaking to The National, Captain Abdullah Al Tamimi, from Abu Dhabi Civil Defence, said: 'She must have been driving too fast. Her car hit the kerb, overtued and caught fire.'

Miss Ghais was studying law and economics at and was extremely popular.

On Monday around 100 of the teen's grieving friends held a memorial walk for Aya, where they recited verses from the Quran, read poetry, carried candles and roses and released white balloons in memory of their friend.

'She was always cheerful, very dedicated and hardworking. She was on her way to the campus library on Saturday when the incident happened,' said Ruba Obaid, a 20-year-old student of economics at the university, speaking to The National.

'We used to see each other every day in university. She was always happy, always smiling and I am sure she never, ever hurt anyone. If she saw anyone crying, whether she knew that person or not, she would go ahead and help them,” said Rama Hattab, an 18-year-old student who was also Aya"s roommate during a ski trip.

Rama said it was only the second time she had driven the powerful car.

'It was her second time to ride this car which came for her from Lebanon. I thank God that she died instantly at the crash and did not suffer for long,' she said.

Memorial walk organiser, Issam Kabbara, told 7 Days in Dubai that he hopes the walk will become an annual event to remember Aya and others killed in road traffic accidents.

'I had a crash when the same bridge was being built. My car tued over on its roof and was written off.

'I know how dangerous it can be. Be remembering our friend Aya, we can also highlight road safety too,' said Kabbara, a Romanian-Lebanese student.

He described her as 'a wonderful person who always had a smile for everyone and who was really admired'. He knew her when he trained the university women"s football team when Aya was a member.

'She played football very well, she played basketball and she was a great student,' he added.

Horrific: Pictures from the scene of the crash show the Lamborghini going up in flames after it crashed on Saturday

Desperate battle: Firefighters put out the flames but were unable to save the student