Quebec provincial police are having trouble identifying four men killed early Wednesday morning in a car crash near the Ontario border.

The men, believed to be 21 to 25 years old, died when their eastbound rental car slammed into a tree on Highway 338 in Les Cèdres, Que., at about 5 a.m. ET.

Firefighters from Les Cedres, Que., examine a car that hit a tree in the early morning hours on Wednesday, killing four men.
(Peter McCabe/Canadian Press)

One victim was ejected from the car, another was pinned underneath, and two were trapped inside for several hours while police tried to dislodge their bodies, said Quebec provincial police spokesman Ronald McInnis.

Police haven't able to identify the victims they've examined so far.

"These two bodies [found outside the car] had no papers on them, and they were sent to the morgue," McInnis said.

The remaining victims were freed after the vehicle, a 2007 Ford with four-wheel drive, was towed to a nearby fire station, where investigators used a hydraulic lift to take it apart. The bodies were transported to the Montreal morgue Wednesday afternoon.

Police found papers inside the car that provided clues to the men's origins, but they won't be able to make a positive identification until they pursue those leads, McInnis said.

Police said the car was probably speeding, but they won't be sure whether alcohol was involved until they get results from blood samples drawn from the bodies.

"We know that speed was a factor because the impact with the tree was so violent," McInnis said, adding there was black ice on the road.

The car was traced back to a rental agency in the Vaudreuil region, west of Montreal. Police believe the victims were from that area.

Les Cèdres is a small town southwest of Montreal on the St. Lawrence River.