He was one of the better characters in the film, despite being a drug dealer and all. He needed to die, in a way, to pave the way for the sequel. If he had survived, Brigette may or may not have had an easier time of it, rather than having to deal with her condition on her own and the story would probably have taken a different route.
But yeah, one of the top three characters for me, the others being Ginger and Brigette. I also like Henry.