Updated

A Chinese couple accused of knocking a woman down while drunk driving and then burying her alive was detained by police, the Shanghai Daily reported Thursday.

Local police claim the couple, both aged 25, was speeding down a highway in Yuyao, located in China's eastern Zhejiang Province, on April 30 when the black sedan hit a 68-year-old woman, the report said, citing the Southeast Business Daily.

A witness told police the suspects exited the vehicle to attend to the woman, who was lying on the ground covered in blood. He said they helped the unnamed victim to the car and claimed they were taking her to the hospital.

However, police said that rather than helping the woman, they drove her to a remote construction site and buried her alive.

The woman's body was found by construction workers May 2 and the couple's abandoned sedan was found damaged at the site.

Autopsy results showed the victim died of asphyxiation, according to the report.

The suspects were arrested May 9, police said Tuesday.

Police claim the driver told them he chose to bury the woman as he was worried he would face punishment for drunk driving, the newspaper added.

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