Authorities on Tuesday identified a wrong-way driver who slammed into a car carrying three Oregon senior girls on Interstate 5, causing a fiery blaze that left no survivors.

Vancouver resident Gayle M. Ward, 65, was behind the wheel of a southbound Acura Integra when she suddenly turned around near Yoncalla and started speeding north against traffic Saturday night, Oregon State Police said.

The Acura plowed nearly head-on into a southbound Nissan Murano carrying Eagle Point High School seniors Luciana Tellez-Cabezas, Giselle Montano and Esmerelda Nava, all 18, police said. Both vehicles then burst into flames.

Bystanders pulled Tallez-Cabezas and Nava from the Nissan, but the teens could not be saved, police said. Ward and Montano, who was driving her friends, perished inside their cars.

Authorities provided no additional details. The investigation is ongoing.

All three students were set to graduate in early June.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 II @shanedkavanaugh