Family tells of young life lost in a rollover

Amid laughter interspersed with tears, Pimentel’s loved ones yesterday recalled the young Dorchester man they described as everybody’s pal.

“Let’s say he got to a party where he didn’t know anyone,’’ said John Michael Garcia, 24. “By the end of the night, he’d know everyone.’’

Pimentel’s sister, Elizabeth, recalled that “he was really good at making those little connections, remembering names and faces.’’

Pimentel died Saturday morning, when he missed a curve while driving on Boston Post Road at speeds up to 80 miles per hour, according to Sudbury police. Pimentel’s car - a red BMW that he doted on, according to family - went behind a guardrail, jumped a small stream, hit a bridge, and rolled before landing on its roof. Police said they believe speed was a factor in Pimentel’s accident, but not alcohol. It was not clear whether he was wearing a seat belt.

The crash, just before 6:20 a.m., was the last in a string of four fatal car accidents Saturday morning.

A Navy seaman home for the holiday was killed in a crash in Quincy just after midnight. About an hour later, three other young people died in a crash in Walpole, including the driver’s fiancee, who had given birth to his son a month ago. The driver in that accident, Jason Wayne Spurlin, has been charged with motor vehicle homicide and operating under the influence and will be arraigned today in Wrentham District Court. Less than two hours after that crash, three Plymouth men died in a crash in Attleboro. Police said none of them were wearing seat belts.

Yesterday, Pimentel’s family said they were still trying to piece together what Johnny had been doing out on the road so early in the morning.

An alumnus of Boston Latin School, Pimentel had recently graduated from Suffolk University, where he had been studying business, said Elizabeth Pimentel, 24. He worked as a manager at an auto body shop in Weymouth, played piano, and spent much of his free time creating hip-hop, reggae, and reggaeton beats for his musically inclined friends.

As family and friends gathered yesterday afternoon in the backyard of Pimentel’s home in Dorchester, they shared their recollections.

“He loved his car; that was his baby,’’ said his cousin Jessica Peña, 28.

“He was really good at saving and meeting his goals,’ Elizabeth Pimentel added. “His car was one of his top priorities.’’ Tears welled up as she spoke of the protective but once shy younger brother she had taught to dance salsa and merengue.

“After a few family parties, he realized he’d be pretty bored if he couldn’t stand up,’’ she recalled of his reasons for wanting to be better on the dance floor. “And he realized it would help him with the ladies.’’

Cousin Jonathan Peña, 24, said he would remember Johnny as someone everyone adored, even if they had just met him.

Globe correspondent John M. Guilfoil contributed to this report. Erin Ailworth can be reached at eailworth@globe.com.