Two Vicksburg women died and a Vicksburg man was injured in a head-on collision just before midnight today after a car traveled at least a mile the wrong way on Interstate 20.

The driver of an eastbound Lincoln Town Car in the westbound lanes, Tonie Easterling, 49, 5290 Floweree Road, was dead at the scene, Warren County Coroner John Thomason said.

Also killed was the passenger of the second car, a Chrysler Concorde in the left lane of the westbound traffic. She was identified by Thomason as Anasis Forte Boney, 29, 204 Lealand Drive.

The Chrysler’s driver, Wilson Tillman, 27, 301 Roosevelt Ave., was listed in good condition this morning at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, hospital spokesman Thyrie Bland said.

The wreck was reported at 11:55 p.m., between Indiana Avenue and Halls Ferry Road, and it forced traffic along the busy interstate to be rerouted for three hours.

Vicksburg Patrolman Stephen Scott was a few hundred feet behind the cars when the wreck occurred. He said he saw the cars separating from the impact, but did not see the actual wreck.

He and others said emergency calls to E-911 seconds before the wreck reported a car driving in the wrong lanes on U.S. 61 and then on Interstate 20.

“A call came out over the radio reporting an eastbound driver in the westbound lane. (The dispatcher) didn’t even finish before I was trying to break in and report the wreck,” Scott said.

It was unclear how long Miss Easterling had been driving in the wrong lane.

Vicksburg Police Lt. David Beard said callers to 911 also said the Lincoln did not have its headlights on, but that had not been confirmed.

Thomason said none of the three involved was wearing a seat belt.

Miss Boney and Tillman were engaged to be married this summer, said her mother, Susie Boney. They had two daughters together, ages 2 and 7.

They worked together at the Yorozu Automotive plant in Flowers and were driving from work to pick up their children from a baby sitter, Susie Boney said.

Miss Boney grew up in Tallulah and moved to Vicksburg a month ago, her mother said. She was a graduate of McCall High School and a member of New Morning Star Baptist Church in Tallulah. She had worked for Yorozu as a parts-maker for almost a year, Susie Boney said.

Miss Easterling was an employee of 61 Quik Stop on U.S. 61 North, officials said. Her family could not be reached.

An autopsy was to be performed on both victims today or Saturday, Thomason said. Miss Boney’s body was to be released to Beckwith Golden Gate Funeral Home in Tallulah, and Miss Easterling’s, to Cox Funeral Home in Oak Grove, Thomason said.

The wreck is the third fatal accident of 2005 and the second this week. It is also the second this year to involve a car driving in the wrong lane of Interstate 20.

Corey Rawlings was killed Jan. 16 near the East Clay Street exit of Interstate 20 East after he drove six miles in the wrong direction from the Bovina exit.

Georgia M. Brown died in a three-car wreck Sunday afternoon on Fisher Ferry Road.

In a separate wreck, two cars collided this morning at 7:45 at Clay Street and Old Highway 27, in front of the Vicksburg National Military Park. No one was injured.

A Dodge Caravan, driven by Jeannie Griffith, 4902 Halls Ferry Road, was eastbound on Clay Street when her car collided with a Chevrolet Suburban driven by Susan Upshaw, 107 Golding Blvd., who was turning onto Clay Street from Old Highway 27, officials said.

Both women told police they thought they had the right-of-way.