Two men are dead after a car slammed into a parked cube van in Lower Sackville last night and Nova Scotia RCMP say the driver is facing charges.

The crash happened just after midnight on Hillside Avenue, according to police.

A 2009 Honda Civic with four men inside slammed into a parked Mercedes-Benz cube van. Two passengers in the car — a 42-year-old man from Lower Sackville and a 48-year-old man from Prince Edward Island — were killed.

Police said the men were pronounced dead at the scene.

Another passenger, a 25-year-old man from Bedford, was taken to the QEII Health Sciences Centre with non-life-threatening injuries.

Wayne Chartrand, who lives nearby, said he watched the aftermath of the collision from his home.

"The passenger side was so far under the truck you couldn't see it, so the guy must have been travelling to go that far underneath the truck," he said.

The car's 26-year-old driver, also from Lower Sackville, was not injured, police said. He has been taken into custody and is facing charges of dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing bodily harm.

He's expected to appear in Dartmouth provincial court today or tomorrow.

It's not clear what led to the collision.

Chartrand said the road is narrow and people often speed down it.

"People race up and down this street all the time, even when kids are out playing. It shouldn't be, there should be something done about it."

RCMP said speed and alcohol may have been factors in the crash, but they haven't been able to confirm that yet.

The investigation is ongoing and police expect to release more details about the crash and possibly lay charges later in the day.

Hillside Avenue was closed for several hours while a traffic analyst examined the scene.