Shocked friends have rallied behind the family of a 13-year-old Dubbo boy who tragically lost his young life in a road accident in the early hours of Tuesday morning. Zach Evans, 13, and Anne Sando, 45, were killed when a semi-trailer ploughed into two stationery vehicles 39 kilometres north of Dubbo on the Mendooran Road. Darren Backhouse, a close friend of the family, said the loss of Zach was a "great tragedy" for all concerned. "He was a good boy, who was in that period from childhood to being a friend of adults," he said. Mr Backhouse said Zach, a student at Dubbo College Delroy Campus, had grown to be a "special" young man. "He really enjoyed his Presbyterian youth group, soccer and games but most of all he really enjoyed his family," he said. The Evans family, who moved from Brisbane to Dubbo a few years ago, encouraged their son in his pursuits, particularly as a soccer player with the RSL Youth Soccer Club. "He had visions of becoming a carpenter when he got a little older," Mr Backhouse said. "He was just such a good boy with a heart of gold. He was never, ever in any trouble - it really is a complete tragedy." Neighbours have remembered Anne Sando as a "woman for others" killed while attempting to help the Evans family who ran out of fuel on the Mendooran Road early Tuesday morning. Mendooran residents Anne and Max Neal were neighbours of Ms Sando for more than a decade. Mr Neal, who taught both Ms Sando's children at Mendooran Central School, encouraged her son, Morgan, to get involved in cadets - a decision that led to a career in the Navy. "She was a very, very devoted and dedicated mother. She was just so proud of her son and the fact that he was in the Federation Guard and all he had done," he said. "She absolutely worked her guts out for her kids." Ms Sando will be remembered by her neighbours as a woman "very proud of her gypsy background". "She was extremely proud that her son had aspired to be the first gypsy officer in the Navy," Mrs Neal said. Mrs Neal said Ms Sando was "the most wonderful person" whose greatest virtue was a complete sense of selflessness. "She was a kind, gentle, beautiful woman who never said a bad word about anybody. She was a wonderful person," she said. "She was a quiet lady who just did her job trying to make a life for herself." Mr Neal said the way Ms Santo died was "typical of the way she lived". "She was one of those largely unappreciated people who just go about their business quietly but would do whatever she could to help those around her."