He was known, from time to time, to wind down his car window while stopped at a red light in Sydney traffic and strike up a conversation with whoever was sitting in the vehicle next to him - it didn't matter who they were.

"He'd start talking to them like they were best mates," his mum, Lee, told the Newcastle Herald.

"He just didn't care what they looked like or who they were."

The 23-year-old from Blackalls Park died in a horror three-vehicle crash on the Pacific Highway at Nerong on April 14.

His family and close friends gathered to pay tribute to the young man on Monday, describing him as kind, charismatic, funny, loyal and brave - "a good person, all the way around".

Lee said her middle child was known to mow their neighbour's lawn when she was unwell and would "drop everything" to drive to his grandmother's property at Narromine to help with the horses or cows, or to mend a fence or do odd jobs around the house.

"He was just so kind hearted," she said.

"If he didn't know you, he'd give you the shirt off his back because you needed it more than he did.

"It [his death] is just a waste."

Logan was born in Dubbo before the family - Lee, father Joel and siblings Zane and Tee-arra - moved to Lake Macquarie when he was five years old.

Read more: Man dead and three others injured in Pacific Highway crash

He went to Toronto Public School, then Toronto High before he completed an apprenticeship as a boiler maker.

He remained close with his childhood mates, who shared a love of cars, a few beers, a barbecue and playing the Xbox.

They said Logan was a larrikin who was always the number one suspect when someone woke up after a party with pen markings scrawled all over their face.

"He wasn't like anyone else," friend Emil Rez said. "No matter what the situation, he'd always walk in with a goofy smile on his face."

From a baseball-mad family, Logan made a name for himself locally as a pitcher.

He played at rep level for Newcastle until he suffered a shoulder injury at 16. Then, he turned his focus to coaching children.

"He just loved kids," Tee-arra said.

Her brother's reputation proceeded her at high school, where one maths teacher warned her on the first day of class not to cause mischief like her older sibling.

The teacher told her Logan was known for having an audio clip of crickets chirping queued on his phone ready to play aloud when the teacher asked a question and got no response.

Another long-time friend, Eli Byrne was sitting in the passenger's seat next to Logan when the crash took place a little more than a week ago.

Eli was taken into surgery immediately with injuries to his legs and hips.

He said on Monday he was "getting there, slowly".

"Both my kneecaps are scalped, I've fractured a big bit of the back of my hip - there's a bit of my hip floating around in there - and pretty much just really sore all over," he said. "I got rag-dolled a bit in the car."

Police have charged Peter Allan Gale with dangerous driving occasioning death - driving in a manner dangerous, a back-up charge of negligent driving occasioning death and five counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct over the crash.

Mr Gale was granted strict conditional bail in Forster local court last week after $15,000 surety was posted on his behalf. He has not entered any pleas and will face court again on June 18.

Logan's friends have set up a Go Fund Me page to help his family - who are in the process of looking for a new rental after their home was condemned - with funeral expenses.

Lee said her son had battled with anxiety and depression, but appeared to be improving before the tragic crash. She said his life revolved around those who were close to him.

"It was just his mates and his family, that's it," she said.

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