A single-car crash early Monday morning left three dead in Anaheim, in a gruesome incident under investigation by police.
The crash was so severe that police at first had trouble identifying how many people were inside the car.
According to Anaheim police, a patrol car saw the white Mercedes sedan speeding southbound down Harbor Boulevard just before 2 a.m.
The driver of the car then lost control of the vehicle, and went airborne through the intersection.
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The Mercedes then hit a brick wall with so much impact that the car split in half, police said. The car then burst into flames and sheared a fire hydrant.
That fire hydrant sent water shooting into powerlines above the street, according to police, energizing the water and causing some explosions.
Speed was a factor in the crash, police said.
Rendering aid was difficult due to the flames in the car, police said. They were able to pull one person out of the car, and they attempted to perform CPR, but the individual did not survive.
The three occupants of the car all died at the scene, according to police. They are believed to have been young adult men.
The intersection was shut down while police investigated and cleared the wreckage
