Bhubaneswar, Nov 13 (IANS): Three people, including a woman, were killed in two separate road accidents in Odisha, sources said on Monday.

In the first incident, a couple from Digapahandi area of Ganjam district along with their relatives had come to Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar for Shradha rituals on the occasion of Diwali on Sunday evening.

"After the ritual, Sulochana Mohanty was crossing the road near the temple with her husband when the driver of a newly purchased car parked at the spot accidentally put on the rear gear. The vehicle suddenly rolled backwards crushing the woman in front of her husband who also sustained minor head injuries in the incident. She was rushed to Capital Hospital where the doctors declared her dead," said Purnachandra Pradhan, the IIC of Shree Lingaraj police station.

Police have seized the four-wheeler and detained the driver at the Police Station.

In a separate incident, two employees of a private finance company died in a road mishap in Bargarh district at around 11 p.m on Sunday night.

The deceased were identified as Kamalesh Sahoo (24) of Dandeipali under Sambalpur Sadar police limits and Suman Devbanath (34) of Siddheshwar Berna area in Sambalpur district.

While returning from Bargarh on a motorcycle after distributing gift packets on the occasion of Diwali, the now-deceased Kamalesh and Suman, stopped at the Deobahal Chowk in Attabira Police station area for some work.

Meanwhile, a heavily loaded speeding trailer truck lost its balance and fell sideways on Kamalesh and Suman who were standing along the road. The duo died on the spot.

"We conducted a medical examination of the driver but he was not found drunk. The vehicle might have lost balance due to over speeding," said Sukumar Tripathy, the IIC of Attabira police station.