Three men are dead following an early morning car crash that left Marin County's Sir Francis Drake Boulevard strewn with rubble. ABC 7 reports that the wreck, which only involved one car, occurred shortly after midnight and was so forceful that it split the vehicle in two.

"This is one of the nastier ones," CHP Officer Ernesto Donis told the channel. "Don't see this a whole lot out here but it does happen from time to time."

While the cause of the crash is unknown, officials told KRON 4 that speed likely played a factor. A preliminary investigation suggests that the driver lost control while traveling westbound on Sir Francis Drake Boulevard just outside of Samuel P. Taylor State Park in Lagunitas. The car went into a ditch and hit a tree which split it in half. CBS 5 notes that the vehicle appears to have also collided with the support pole for a power line.

All three passengers, young men, were wearing seat belts. No one was ejected from the vehicle, and there was no fire. The deceased, who were pronounced dead at the scene, have yet to be identified.

This wreck calls to mind another dramatic crash in Marin County last November when a driver, who may have dozed off at the wheel, and his passenger plunged off a cliff near Stinson Beach. In that case, both occupants were airlifted to a hospital with major injuries.

Related: Five Dead In Early Morning Bus Crash In Merced County