Family remembers loveable larrikin who tragically died in car accident at Terang

The 23-year-old lost his life on Saturday when the car he was a passenger in hit a tree near Terang.

His parents Jane and Doug say their son was always putting other people first, and that was what he was doing when he died.

But it's the memories of their son's craziness and love of adventure that they will cherish.

He would often walk through his parents' front door and say things like "Yo yo fam, what's crack-a-lakin?"

"That's just so him. He'd come through the door and say all his fun phrases and craziness," mum Jane said.

"That's the one thing that has come through that everyone has said, he had a quick smile for everyone."

He and brother Neil, 19, were best friends. "They were close. He would have done anything for Neil, and for us. Family for him was so important."

Adrian lived a life filled with adventure, and he loved the great outdoors whether it was camping, surfing or jetskiing.

"He'd go out into the bush where there was nothing, and he had a great peace out in the ocean," Mrs Phipps said.

When they visited Cairns as a family he just hopped on the jetski and "went for it".

"He just loved it," she said. "He was adventurous. He lived life to the full.

"He had so much life ahead of him. He had such dreams."

After losing his retail job during COVID-19 he picked up an apprenticeship as a welder.

"He just loved welding. He'd found his passion. It took him a while but he found it," Mrs Phipps said.

"He had such dreams to go on with his welding career."

He recently found a passion for motorbikes which he loved riding on the farming property at Nullawarre where he lived.

"He just loved being out in the open," Mrs Phipps said. The rural property gave him the freedom to ride his off-road bike, and he had plans to get chickens because he wanted to have his own farm.

"He was always busy, he always wanted to keep active and do stuff. He loved tinkering with his car and his bike," Mrs Phipps said.

She said he got through the hard times he had faced in his younger years, and came out a stronger man after being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder later in life.

"He'd come to such a good place. All he wanted to do was help others not make the same mistakes," Mrs Phipps said.

"He always put other people first before himself. He got great pleasure from helping other people and cheering them up."

Mrs Phipps said that on the night he died he went out with a friend to cheer her up. "That's what he was doing that night," she said.

His love of helping others started when he was younger, and a Scouts trip to Fiji as a teenager where he helped build a playground and school for kids in the villages sparked a desire to help and serve others.

"He had the best time there. He loved being with the kids. He loved serving others," she said.

"All he wanted was to travel."

He'd visited his grandparents in South Africa a few times and, while he had travelled around parts of Australia, he had plans to do more when he'd finished his apprenticeship.

Mrs Phipps said Adrian knew she hated motorbikes and recently joked that he'd get an on-road bike.

But he assured her he would be careful. "But he also said if something happened he knew that he would have gone happy," she said.

The accident happened on the Cobden-Terang Road when a car left the road and crashed into a tree about 1.15am.

The female driver and a female passenger managed to free themselves from the vehicle before it burst into flames, police said.

The 19-year-old driver on Sunday was charged over the crash and the 21-year-old passenger remains in hospital with serious injuries.

The driver has been charged with culpable driving causing death and drive whilst suspended and will appear at Warrnambool Magistrates' Court on Monday.

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