Three people were killed early Sunday when a car broke a natural-gas pipe in on Ventura Boulevard in Los Angeles and exploded in flames, firefighters said. The first units on the scene in the Studio City area said the victims died instantly in the explosion, which fully engulfed the car and threatened a nearby pizza restaurant. Witnesses said the car went out of control around 3:55 a.m. PDT, hit a tree and then sheared off a gas pipe before coming to rest against the wall of the pizzeria, the Los Angeles Fire Department said in a written statement. More than 50 firefighters responded to the call and were able to minimize damage to the restaurant. The identities of the victims were not immediately known.