Adam Nall, the driver of the car that crashed into a pole and exploded in Unanderra on Friday night, was a quiet, generous bloke who lived for surfing and his family.
"He was quiet and kept to himself, but he was really generous," his sister Amanda Stannard told the Mercury yesterday.
"If me or my brother Brad wanted anything, he would do anything for us."
When their parents Bob and Wendy moved the family from Wagga Wagga to Merry Beach, in Ulladulla, in the early 1990s, Adam, the middle child of three, embraced the coastal lifestyle and the ocean.
"He just loved surfing, he shaped surfboards and that could have been his career," Adam's brother-in-law Chad Stannard said.
"As a young fella he shaped surfboards for a bloke down at Ulladulla and got offered an apprenticeship, but kind of thought that it might not be the right career move."
Instead, Adam followed his sister to the Illawarra where, in his early 20s, he gained an apprenticeship with Andreco-Hurll Refractory Services and settled in Oak Flats.
Two months ago he joined Mr and Mrs Stannard and their two children, Chloe, three, and one-year-old Cooper on a family trip to Australia Zoo, in Queensland.
"He had just been to Bali and he had a ball, and was just really loving life," Mrs Stannard said.
"But then (the accident) happened and it was just a nightmare, I never thought I would have to hear something like that, because our family was so good and so lucky.
"We had everything going: beautiful kids, Mum and Dad, a happy family and a good support for each other, and then this just happens. It is a devastating shock.
"I find it hard to comprehend because he loved his car, but we never saw that side of him. We never knew him to speed, so that is the bit we don't understand."
The police woke Wendy and Bob Nall with the bad news at 2.30am on Saturday.
"They then drove to my brother Brad's house in Kings Point and told him, and then they drove up here and told me," Mrs Stannard said. "They just wanted us to all be together and they wanted to tell us in person."
When the Flinders couple had to break the news of Mr Nall's tragic death to Chloe, Mr Stannard told her: "Uncle Adam's gone to heaven to be with Bindi Irwin's dad".
"That was the only way she could understand," he said.
"Adam was good with the kids and they were his only niece and nephew."
Mrs Stannard said the family was staying strong amid the tragedy.
"We are good because we are talking about it and we have got photos, and my parents have a lot of community support down at Merry Beach," she said.
"The small coastal community is really sticking by them.
"Adam would want us to remember the good times, he wouldn't want us to dwell on this."
Mr Nall's funeral is expected to be held next week at the Mollymook Surf Life Saving Club.
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