THE best friend of the Buninyong man killed in Saturday night's crash has paid tribute to the mate he considered his brother.Phillip Matthews yesterday spoke to The Courier of his pain at losing Tim "Vauge" Vawdrey-Smith, 22, and friend, Ballarat woman Jade Dyson, 21.They were killed when the ute they were travelling in hit a tree on the Glenelg Hwy near Linton.Mr Matthews, 21, said he had known "Vauge" since primary school, before his mate left Ballarat Grammar for St Patrick's College.He spoke of a best mate who loved fishing, shooting, working on cars, motorbikes and four-wheel driving."Everyone knew him and he was loved by everyone; he had a lot of mates," Mr Matthews said."He was the class clown and could make anyone laugh."Three weeks ago, a group of them went to Crown Casino for a big night and that was the last time he saw him.He said "Vauge" had a great relationship with his parents, and adored his younger brother Harry."I'm going to miss him a lot, and a lot of friends will miss him too," he said.Mr Matthews was also close friends with Jade Dyson, a former Mt Clear College student, who he described as "like a little sister". He said she hoped one day to get into child care. She was a middle child among four girls."She was a month older than me; we used to have all our birthdays together," said Mr Matthews."Jade was always up for going out and doing stuff; she had a big, loveable heart and loved anybody, it didn't matter who it was."He said she had been engaged to her fiance, the driver in Saturday night's accident, for about six months."They'd been together since she was 16. They'd just got a house together and they were just happy to be engaged," Mr Matthews said."She and "Vauge" are going to be missed by everyone."