Horrific night on Mass. roads: 4 crashes, 8 dead

“I’ve been reconstructing crashes for over 20 years and I can’t remember that many people dying in one night,’’ said Lieutenant David Wilson of the State Police.

Among the dead, all of whom were in their teens or 20s, was a mother of a newborn, a young woman studying to be a paralegal, and a Navy seaman first class home from San Diego for the holiday. Alcohol was a factor in one of the crashes and speed contributed to at least two of the accidents, police said.

Victims in at least two of the crashes were not wearing seat belts, compelling State Police to warn drivers and passengers to be careful as they hit the roads.

“I’ve responded to crashes where somebody should have been able to walk away from a crash but instead died because they weren’t wearing a seat belt,’’ said Wilson.

The first accident occurred in Quincy, just after midnight.

Nineteen-year-old Michael B. Lally was driving on the northbound side of Quincy Avenue with three passengers, including his cousin, when he struck a car pulling out of East Howard Street, police said.

The chain of events that followed was so chaotic that police were still working yesterday to reconstruct what happened. At least two other vehicles were struck after the initial crash and the impact caused Lally and his 18-year-old cousin, who was not identified, to be ejected.

Five people were taken to the hospital, including Lally’s cousin, who was in critical condition yesterday, according to Quincy police and Lally’s uncle.

“It’s been a busy night for everyone,’’ said Sergeant Michael O’Shea of the Quincy police. “Not a good Fourth of July.’’

Lally, a 2007 Braintree High School graduate who had 18 cousins, was returning from watching fireworks in Quincy, said his uncle, Joseph Lally.

The snowboarder and boater was in the Navy, stationed in San Diego on the USS Kidd, and had come back for two weeks to visit family during his favorite holiday, Joseph Lally said.

“He was just the nicest kid,’’ Lally said of his nephew. “Everybody loved him. He had a lot of friends. You can’t say enough about the boy.’’

About an hour later, in Walpole, Jason Wayne Spurlin, 31, was driving a Jeep Cherokee with his fiancee, Amanda Murray, 23, the mother of his 4-week-old son.

With them were Anna Dubois, 20, and Nicholas Kelly, 20, both of Walpole.

The four had just watched fireworks at a friend’s apartment in Walpole and were headed to Taco Bell for a late-night meal when Spurlin lost control of the Jeep and smashed into a tree on East Street, just beyond High Plain Street, police said.

Deputy Police Chief Scott Bushway said speed and alcohol appeared to be factors in the crash.

Murray, Dubois, and Kelly were killed.

Spurlin, who police said was driving drunk, was transported to a Boston-area hospital, where he learned from Murray’s mother that his fiancee had died.

He was so upset that he had to be sedated, said his aunt, Evie Sands. Police arrested him at the hospital and charged him with three counts of vehicular homicide and operating under the influence, Bushway said. He will be arraigned in Wrentham District Court tomorrow.

Spurlin had just moved from Florida to live with Murray in Medfield. They got engaged around Christmas and planned to get married. Their son was named after Spurlin, according to relatives.

Spurlin “had just moved up there to start a new life, have the baby, and start a new life,’’ Sands said. “It’s sad.’’

Murray’s family mourned the young woman, who they said was excited to be a new mother, but also expressed anger at Spurlin.

“He deserves everything he gets,’’ said Murray’s aunt, Kim. “He’s old enough to know better.’’

Dubois’s father, James, described his daughter as a headstrong, determined young woman who was taking classes at Massachusetts Bay Community College and wanted to become a paralegal. James said she had been dating Kelly, whose family could not be reached for comment.

“She was a wonderful girl,’’ said James Dubois, who said he adopted Dubois when she was 5 months old. “She’s just been a joy in my life all her life. She’s my buddy.’’

Less than two hours later, in Attleboro, Gleidson Pereira, 23, of Plymouth, was driving a 2003 Mazda sedan along Interstate 95 north.

Pereira, who was traveling with three Plymouth men, lost control of the car at Exit 3. The vehicle overturned and hit several tree stumps before it stopped.

All four men, none of whom were wearing seat belts, were ejected during the crash.

Pereira, Ivanildo De Souza, 27, and Lavdeir De Silva, 29, were pronounced dead at the scene. Samuel Torres-Mendes, 29, suffered serious injuries and was taken by ambulance to Rhode Island Hospital, where he was listed in good condition, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Telephone numbers or addresses for relatives of the four victims could not be found yesterday afternoon.

The last crash occurred in Sudbury at about 6:18 a.m., when a 22-year-old man driving on Boston Post Road lost control of his vehicle.

He was driving a BMW at an apparently high speed on a narrow section of the roadway when he lost control at a curve, police said.

The car went around a guardrail and over a stream, flipping over onto its roof, said Police Lieutenant Scott Nix.

The driver was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. Police said he was not from Sudbury.

Sergeant Richard MacLean said the victim’s name was not released because his family had not been notified.

Erin Ailworth of the Globe staff and Globe correspondents Hannah McBride, Vivian Nereim, and John M. Guilfoil contributed to this report. Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.