Police say probe into crash that killed 4, including 2 workers, facing 'forensic challenges'

Two of the people killed in a fiery crash on Main Street East on Saturday were workers waiting to do maintenance at a nearby Pizza Pizza restaurant, according to the company.

Hamilton police said three pedestrians and the driver of a stolen Toyota Prius died after the vehicle hopped the curb, smashed into a concrete hydro pole and burst into flames.

Investigators have so far not released the identities of the four people killed in the early-morning crash. 

Const. Krista-Lee Ernst said Tuesday it would be up to the victims' families to make their identities public.

The crash involves both "investigative and forensic time challenges," she wrote in an email.

"There are elements of this investigation that take time and need to be processed through the Ontario forensic pathology unit and we continue to work with them closely."

Ernst told CBC Hamilton a male stole the vehicle near Barton and Kenilworth.

Investigators said the male driver was travelling at a "high rate of speed" and headed westbound toward King Street East around 2 a.m. when he lost control.

On Tuesday, bouquets were taped to a pole at the scene. The building beside a Pizza Pizza near the corner was charred and boarded up.

A window on an upper floor was shattered. Some people walking by Tuesday morning stared at the memorial as they passed.

In an email to CBC, a spokesperson for Pizza Pizza said two of the people who were killed were contracted to do maintenance on the restaurant's equipment.

The company is "shocked and saddened" by what happened, wrote vice president of marketing, Adrian Fuoco.

"This is a tragic loss of life and we offer our sincere condolences to the families of all impacted."

Milton Joiner, who identified himself on Saturday as a cook at the restaurant, said the location had recently been sold and the cleaners were coming in ahead of new owners taking it over.

A man came in and briefly introduced himself to the staff, before going back outside to grab some gear, said Joiner.

"He didn't come back inside," the cook recalled. "And then one guy came in yelling … and he said 'Fire, fire, fire.'"

The man's chin was bloody, according to Joiner, who said he ran to the street to find a car in flames and another vehicle smashed up with someone inside.

"The guy didn't have a chance to get out of the car," he said.

"I was in shock. That poor guy. He just came inside and then he came back out and then he's injured or dead. I'm not sure," he said at the time. 

Police not identifying victims yet

Three of the four people killed were pedestrians and the fourth was the driver of the car, who was still inside when it caught fire, Const. Indy Bharaj said Saturday.

He declined to say if the pedestrians were connected in any way, noting police were still working to positively identify all of the victims and a post mortem had been scheduled for Monday.

Ernst said Tuesday that she couldn't say if or when the identity of anyone involved will be released.

Bharaj had said the vehicle had been stolen a short time before the crash, though police were not in pursuit.

Impairment has not been ruled out, he added at the time.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger described what had happened as a "senseless and tragic loss of life."

"We pray for the loved ones who are getting horrific news today," he wrote on Twitter.