Oct. 24 (Agencies) : An Indian student was among four killed when a car with a suspected drunk driver barrelled into crowds watching a homecoming parade at Oklahoma State University on Saturday.

Nikita Nakal, an MBA student from Mumbai, was identified as one of the victims. But a police statement put the victim's name as Nakita Prabhakar, 23.

Don Betz, the president of the University of Central Oklahoma, said in a statement that "while we mourn the potential unrealised, let us also honour her life by pulling closer and appreciating the strength of our Broncho family." He said the university planned to honour Nakal soon.

Witnesses told of bodies being flung dozens of feet into the air as the grey Hyundai Elantra ploughed into the throng at the intersection of Main Street and Hall of Fame Avenue in Stillwater, 130km northeast of Oklahoma City, at the end of the parade.

"At first we thought it was part of the show," Konda Walker, a 1991 graduate, said. "People were flying 30 feet into the air like rag dolls."

Representatives for OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City said the hospital received eight victims from the crash, five of them children, ranging in condition from good to critical. One of the patients, a two-year-old, later died.

The driver, identified as 25-year-old Adacia Avery Chambers, was taken into custody on suspicion of driving while under the influence of alcohol, said Captain Kyle Gibbs of Stillwater Police. "I've been here 29 years and I can't recall an incident of this magnitude," Gibbs said.

The suspect does not appear to have been a student at Oklahoma State University, Gibbs said. Another official said Chambers was a resident of the city.

The suspect's father, Floyd Chambers, 47, said he learned about the accident through social media and was stunned. "I can't figure this out. This is not the person that's my daughter. ...I can't imagine alcohol being involved. She is not an alcoholic that I'm aware of," Chambers said.