Three Bay Area residents died in separate car accidents early today, according to the California Highway Patrol.

In the first crash, which took place about 2 a.m. in Albany, three young women were in a car heading east on Interstate 80 when it careered off the road. The vehicle, a 2004 Mitsubishi Galant, flipped at least twice before coming to rest on the Buchanan Street off-ramp.

The driver was not seriously hurt, but her two passengers were thrown from the car. One suffered major injuries and was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland. The second woman died.

She was identified as Angelique Nicole Howard, 20, of Vallejo. The other two women, also 20-year-olds, were from Richmond. Those women were wearing seat belts, but the CHP could not immediately say whether Howard had been.

In Sonoma County about 2:45 a.m., a 2003 Mercedes-Benz with four occupants burst into flames after it swerved off Sanders Road and into a tree. The driver, 30-year-old Justin Fauser of Sebastopol, was headed north near Water Trough Road and speeding, according to the CHP. He was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.

Everyone in the car was wearing seat belts, but two passengers suffered major injuries and were taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. The third, a 30-year-old Sebastopol man whom officials did not identify, was killed.

Almost an hour later, two cars collided on Highway 1 near the Half Moon Bay Airport after the northbound vehicle, a 2000 Honda Civic, veered across the road into the oncoming lane.

The Civic was struck by a southbound 1996 Ford Crown Victoria and the driver of the Civic was killed. He was identified as Mario Ramirez, 27, of Moss Beach.

The driver of the Ford, a 38-year-old Burlingame man, suffered moderate injuries and was taken to San Francisco General Hospital. Both men were wearing seat belts.