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A two-vehicle accident Thursday on U.S. 80 in Phenix City left two sisters dead and another person injured.

Traffic was backed up for miles around noon until about 1:30 p.m. on the two westbound lanes of the highway heading toward Summerville Road.

Phenix City Police Capt. Ray Smith said two women -- Stephanie Lee Strange Olds, 22, and Brittany Nicole Odland, 18, both of Phenix City -- were driving east in a white Saturn and crossed the median into the westbound lane. Smith said their vehicle struck a Ford pickup truck. He didn't have the name of that driver.

Olds was the driver of the Saturn. Smith said it's still unclear whether she experienced a mechanical problem. He also said another vehicle might have been involved, causing the car to swerve into oncoming traffic.

"They either lost control or crossed the median for some reason," he said.

Smith said a third car, traveling behind the Saturn, had a blown-out tire just before the accident. He said that vehicle didn't run into the Saturn, but could have startled Olds, causing her to lose control of the vehicle, he said.

"That's a possibility," he said.

Russell County Deputy Coroner Wayne Pittman said both woman were pronounced dead at the scene around 12:30 p.m.

By about 1:30 p.m., a wrecker crew was loading up the Saturn, whose top had been partially sheared off, onto a truck. Traffic was backed up miles into Georgia as drivers crept west on the highway, stuck in traffic.

Investigators combed the brush on the side of the highway looking for pieces of the vehicles and other evidence. Smith said the accident is still under investigation. Ledger Enquirer