Moscow, Jul 23 (IANS/RIA Novosti): A woman, rammed her car into a group of pedestrians and killed five people outside Moscow, has admitted to drunk driving but claims she was carrying her boyfriend to the hospital.

The incident occurred late Saturday near the city of Staraya Kupavna, some 20 km to the east of Moscow, Moskovsky Komsomolets daily said.

Yekaterina Zaul, 24, crashed her Land Rover into a group of people walking on the roadside, killing five of them, including a seven-year-old girl, reports said.

Another underage girl was hospitalised. She is in stable condition, the daily added.

Zaul admitted taking several whiskey shots on that day, but said she was rushing her boyfriend to hospital from an outdoors party because he started to asphyxiate, Vesti.ru cited her as saying.

Regional police did not comment on Zaul's story, but filed a case over the incident that may land her in prison for up to nine years if charged and convicted of gross traffic rules violations that resulted in multiple deaths.