A 29-year-old man killed in a single-vehicle crash in Waianae early Friday was identified by family and friends as James Gouveia of Waianae.

Police said that at about 3:30 a.m. Gouveia and a passenger were traveling north at a “high rate of speed” in a white vehicle on Waianae Valley Road when he lost control. The car went onto a grassy easement, then struck a large boulder and chain-link fence before landing in the Kaupuni Canal.

Firefighters responding to the accident found the mangled vehicle on its roof at the bottom of the dry canal near 85-443 Waianae Valley Road.

Firefighters used hydraulic rescue tools to extricate the two men, who were pinned inside the car. Police said Gouveia was pronounced dead at the scene, and his passenger, a 28-year-old Waianae man, was transported in critical condition to an area hospital.

Masi Maugaotega said he stepped outside of his home near the canal after the crash and said the passenger was breathing but not moving when paramedics transported him to the hospital. Maugaotega said he had been sleeping when he heard a loud screech then a “really loud bang.”

Neither man was wearing a seat belt. Police said speed and drugs were factors.

“This is sad,” Maugaotega said Friday, standing near the crash site with other bystanders as police investigated.

Area residents said vehicles regularly speed on the road, where the posted speed limit is 25 mph.

Gouveia’s family members and friends at the crash scene were distraught.

Gouveia’s girlfriend, Hiilani Reinhardt, who lives nearby and is three months pregnant, had first been at the scene after hearing blaring sirens. Gouveia had a daughter from a previous relationship, and friends said he was excited about becoming a father again.

Reinhardt wept as she recalled immediately recognizing Gouveia, affectionately known as “Jimmy Boy,” as firefighters got him out of the vehicle. “He’s in a better place,” said Reinhardt, 20.

Friends said he was a good guy who loved music and always put family first.

Friday’s crash was Oahu’s 12th traffic-related fatality this year.

Police are continuing their investigation.

Gouveia was scheduled to appear at Waianae District Court on Monday after police cited him in March for driving without a valid driver’s license or insurance.

In February 2012 Gouveia was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with the 2009 beating death of Monte L. Young Jr. at Halawa Correctional Facility.

Gouveia was serving five years in prison at the time for violating terms of a court agreement relating to a 2006 auto theft conviction when he got into an argument that escalated into a fight.

Young was serving a 100-year sentence for the 1997 killing of a stranger at a fast-food restaurant.

Police said Gouveia had beaten Young in the prison recreation yard before he died. According to court records, Gouveia was indicted by an Oahu grand jury on manslaughter charges. In 2012 he pleaded guilty under a plea agreement to a lesser charge of second-degree assault in Young’s death.