Their car is struck by a car traveling in the wrong direction; driver is arrested

ALBANY - Two Portland-area women died and a third was injured Sunday night when their vehicle was struck by a car traveling the wrong way in the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 near the Highway 20 interchange at Albany.

The victims were members of the Eugene Symphony and were returning home following rehearsal, according to the Oregon State Police.

The driver of the wrong-way car, Fivea Sharipoff, 26, of Salem has been arrested on manslaughter charges and is being held in the Linn County Jail.

According to state police, here's what happened:

Troopers received a report just before 11 p.m. Sunday of a wrong-way driver on the freeway and moments later got a report of a collision.

Kjersten J. Oquist, 36, of Wood Village had been driving north when her vehicle, a 1993 Saturn four-door, was struck in the passenger side by a 1996 Nissan Sentra driven by Sharipoff.

Oquist and passenger Angela J. Svendsen, 31, of Vancouver, Wash., died at the scene.

A second passenger, Kelly Gronli, 28, of Portland, was taken to Samaritan Albany General Hospital, where she was treated and released.

Sharipoff also sustained injuries and was taken to the Albany hospital. Once released, she was arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree manslaughter, and one count each of second-degree assault and driving under the influence of intoxicants.

Sharipoff was scheduled to appear in Linn County Circuit Court this afternoon. She was being held at the jail with security set at $155,850.

The northbound lanes of I-5 were closed until about 3 a.m. today and traffic was diverted at Highway 34.

The Linn County Sheriff's Office, Albany Fire Department, Oregon Department of Transportation, the Multi-Agency Accident Investigation Team and the Albany Police Department assisted at the accident scene.

Albany-area troopers are continuing the investigation with assistance from the Linn County District Attorney's Office.

This is the second double-fatal collision in Linn County this month. Two men from Lyons died Feb. 1 when their car slid on ice on Highway 226 and collided with a school bus.