3 Dead, 1 Injured After Car Hits Pedestrians and Crashes Into Philadelphia Station: 'Really Gruesome'

The driver and two pedestrians were pronounced dead at the scene early Tuesday morning, police say

Three people died after a speeding car jumped a curb and crashed into a SEPTA station in Philadelphia Tuesday morning, authorities said.

The fatal accident took place just before 2:45 a.m. at the Kensington & Allegheny station, according to a Philadelphia Police Department statement obtained by PEOPLE.

The driver, who was operating an SUV, was traveling eastbound "at a high rate of speed" when he "failed to navigate a bend in the highway and traveled through the intersection," per authorities. After the driver jumped the curb outside the station, he crashed into a turnstile before hitting a wall, police said.

Prior to making impact with the wall, the vehicle "struck two pedestrians on the pavement," they added.

The driver, as well as the two pedestrians — identified by police as a man and a woman — were pronounced dead at the scene, police said. A third pedestrian, identified by authorities as a 53-year-old man, was transported to Temple University Hospital in stable but serious condition.

Additional information, including the names of the victims, has yet to be released by authorities.

Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said that an officer who was on patrol in the area at the time witnessed the crash, which was also captured on ​​surveillance cameras, per NBC Philadelphia.

"The vehicle was obviously traveling at a very, very high rate of speed, according to this officer," Small told the outlet.

Speaking with local FOX station WTXF-TV, Small said that the officer on duty believed the vehicle was "easily going 100 miles per hour."

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After crashing into the building, the SUV caught on fire, according to NBC Philadelphia.

"It's really gruesome," Small told WTXF-TV, sharing that the body of the male pedestrian was decapitated and partially burned. The body of the other pedestrian who was fatally struck was mangled and crushed, he said.

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"It sounded like a bomb went off and everyone started running away," one witness told local ABC station WPVI-TV.

"Once it settled down, people started walking closer towards it," the witness added. "Then they saw the car so they started running over."

Train service resumed at the station just before 9 a.m., SEPTA announced on Twitter.

The police investigation is ongoing.