Lynnway auto dealer mourned by colleagues

LYNN – Lynnway car dealership employees joined Michael Iovanna?s family and friends Monday in remembering the Pride Motors president as “a straight shooter who wore his heart on his sleeve.”Police confirmed Iovanna and a passenger were killed in a car accident on Peabody Street in Middleton on Sunday at approximately 6 p.m. The pair were pronounced dead at the accident scene, according to Middleton Police.?It?s been very sad. Our thoughts and prayers are for Mike and his family and the passenger?s family,” said Pride Vice President Paul Bertoli.Kelly Honda flashed an “R.I.P. Mike I.” message on its Lynnway electronic sign Monday, and Kelly sales manager Michael O?Connell recalled his more than 20-year friendship with Iovanna that led to O?Connell?s working at Pride starting in 2001.?I got in the business through Michael,” he said.O?Connell described Pride as a family business, with Iovanna?s late parents, Ralph and Patricia, originally at the helm and Michael working with dealership employees.?Everybody liked him. He was passionate about the business,” O?Connell said.O?Connell and Iovanna, a Swampscott native, shared a love for hockey that often veered into humor when Iovanna talked about his son, Michael?s, skills.?We would joke about hockey parents and I?d say, ?Michael, you?re one of them,?” O?Connell said.The younger Iovanna starred at Malden Catholic and accepted a scholarship to play at UMass, starting next fall. He is playing junior hockey.Former Pride general sales manager Jeff Lubas said Iovanna?s death will be felt deeply by North Shore and Massachusetts car dealers.?The car business is a small community of people,” said, Lubas, who went to work for Pride 10 years ago.Lubas and said Iovanna?s straightforward way of working helped Lubas navigate the car market?s lean and prosperous times. “You always knew where you stood with him,” he said.