SALEM — Joseph Castano and Craig Sampson III had been inseparable since childhood, friends said. Now, after a weekend crash that killed Sampson, Castano is being criminally charged in his best friend’s death.

Castano, 20, was driving his father’s gray BMW sedan in Beverly early Saturday morning when he swerved off the road at high speed and into a telephone pole, police, prosecutors, and witnesses said. Sampson, a 19-year-old Endicott College sophomore riding in the passenger seat, was killed.

After the crash, Castano, a college student from Williston, Vt., registered a blood-alcohol level of .22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit, authorities said. On Tuesday, he was arraigned in Salem District Court on charges of vehicular homicide, drunken driving, and illegal possession of alcohol.

Castano was vomiting after the crash, and first responders said he suffered from “acute alcohol intoxication with delirium,’’ according to court records.

Castano pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, Randy Chapman, acknowledged that “the decisions that young people make at this age are not always the wisest.’’

“The hope is that they can take away something positive,’’ he said. “But it’s hard to see what at this moment.’’

Castano sustained serious injuries to his neck, ribs, and thigh, Chapman said. He limped into court wearing a neck brace and an arm sling.

He posted $25,000 cash bail and left the courthouse with the help of his parents, who declined to comment. His next court date is set for June 7.

“These charges are extraordinarily serious, and we will deal with them as they come,’’ Chapman said. Castano “hasn’t possibly come to grips with what happened’’ so soon after the crash, he added.

Witness statements paint a harrowing picture of the crash. Minutes before, an Endicott College police officer saw the gray BMW squealing its tires and speeding down the street, leaving a trail of burnt rubber.

Officers tried to “get the vehicle to decrease its speed,’’ according to a police report, but were unsuccessful. Moments later, pedestrians jumped from its path before it swerved across the road, through a fence, and into a telephone pole.

Video footage from a campus building confirmed the witness reports, court records say.

Mia DePrince, a 21-year-old who grew up with Castano and Sampson in Williston, Vt., recalled Castano and Sampson as real “sweethearts’’ who helped her cope with bullying.

“This hits so close to home,’’ she said. “I was so fond of both these kids.’’

Sampson was “one of the few people that was always there for me,’’ she said.

“I felt that he was definitely someone I could turn to,’’ DePrince said. “He was just the best.’’

Other friends “can’t even find the words to explain this,’’ DePrince said.

On Facebook, one friend recounted her last conversation with Castano, who said he was looking forward to visiting Sampson for the weekend.

“I could tell how excited he was from his classic smirk,’’ the friend posted.

Astead W. Herndon can be reached at astead.herndon@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @AsteadWH.