The family of a man who died in recent days of injuries he suffered during a serious single-vehicle crash in wine country last month is thanking the emergency service workers who did their best to save the 51-year-old.
Dean Knott died in hospital last week, almost a fortnight after a fence post came through his windscreen and passed through his chest during a car accident at Pokolbin.
Mr Knott's family on Tuesday paid tribute to the former security guard, bar tender and abattoir worker, saying he was a man who was "larger than life and loved his family all equally".
A husband, father and stepfather, Mr Knott loved music - Eminem and Linkin Park in particular - along with his Dalmation-cross-Bull-Arab Ruby, who he often referred to as "baby dog".
"He had such a big personality," said Rhiannon Allison - Mr Knott's stepdaughter - on behalf of his wife Lauree as well as his son and daughter Alex and Gabby.
"He was a funny guy who loved to have a chat and didn't mind having a few drinks.
"He was always joking around, he loved to see people smile and as much as he always said he hated people he was always happy to chat to anyone whether he knew them or not."
Emergency crews were called to the crash scene at McDonalds Road about 6.30am on August 21 after a worker from a nearby vineyard found Mr Knott's vehicle in a ditch at the edge of the property.
It was not known how much time had passed between the crash and when Mr Knott was found.
NSW Ambulance paramedics, the Westpac Rescue Helicopter team and Cessnock District Rescue Squad were among the emergency services that responded to the scene, which one paramedic told the Newcastle Herald at the time was "quite confronting".
Mr Knott was removed from the car in what emergency workers described as a lengthy and complex procedure.
He was air-lifted to John Hunter Hospital in a critical condition, with traumatic injuries.
He died in hospital last Wednesday night.
Some family members attended Cessnock District Rescue Squad's weekly meeting on Monday evening to let the volunteers know that Mr Knott had passed away and to thank them for all that was done in the attempt to save the Hunter father.
"Dean's family would like to give a massive thanks to the emergency services who attended and assisted Dean," Ms Allison told the Newcastle Herald on Tuesday.
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