CASS COUNTY, Texas - The whole house shook.
That's all David and Shelby Jackson remember about the moment about 3:30 a.m. March 12 when they were awakened by a car crashing into their 1-month-old son's nursery.
The baby, Leonard Lane, was sleeping in his parents' bedroom that night, and no one in the young family was injured. Some might call that good luck, but not David's mother, Tina Jackson Hill.
"It was definitely God's protection and a miracle that all of them are still here," she said.
A confused driver had run a stop sign at the intersection of Texas Highway 77 and Farm to Market Road 2791, according to Shelby. Law enforcement accident reports were not available Friday.
"She didn't know where she was, so she completely ran the stop sign. My car was parked diagonally in the driveway, and she swerved to the right to avoid my car and drove into my son's bedroom. She thought the car had come around her on the road and had tried to cut her off," she said.
The Jacksons were not entirely surprised.
"We always had it kind of in the back of our minds that it could possibly happen, but we never truly expected it to happen," Shelby said.
Though the family escaped getting hurt, their 1945 frame house was so damaged they can no longer live there.
"It shifted the entire structure. (The baby's) room was absolutely destroyed, but it shifted everything. It cracked all of the sheetrock around the ceiling in our bedroom. It cracked the sheetrock and wood in the hallway, and then it knocked the toilet off of the flange," Shelby said.
Now the Jacksons are living with Shelby's grandmother across the street and planning to build a new home sooner than they had expected to.
"We didn't plan on building for another five or six years, but now we're going to try to build just a small little one-bedroom shop, kind of, on some of our other property - up on a hill, away from the intersection," Shelby said.
David, 25, is a Texarkana, Texas, Fire Department firefighter. Shelby, 24, is a nursing student and former emergency medical technician. The daughter of Fire Marshal Capt. Chuck Weerts, Shelby too has a strong connection to TTFD.
"David and his family are a big part of our department. David has been with the department for several years now and has consistently performed his duties with a positive attitude and an impressive work ethic," TTFD Chief Eric Schlotter said in an email. "Both David and Shelby volunteer in their spare time and both have dedicated their lives to helping others.
"News of the accident shocked us and we are all so thankful that no one, especially little Lane, was injured. I would ask that everyone please keep this family in your thoughts and prayers as they work to recover."
The communities of Atlanta and Queen City have come together to help the Jacksons in an "outpouring of support," Hill said. Cash donation jars at local businesses have been full. An online campaign at gofundme.com, titled "Help David and Shelby Rebuild," had raised $1,250 as of noon Friday.
A fundraiser to help with building costs is scheduled for April 24 at Indian Hills Country Club in Atlanta. Proceeds from a silent auction, a team cornhole tournament, a chili cook-off, a dance with a live band and T-shirt sales will all go to the Jacksons' building fund.
The couple is grateful for the support they have received so far - and a little surprised.
"We did not expect that much help at all," Shelby said. "We didn't expect any, really, but we've been overwhelmed with anybody that has contributed anything."
(For more information about the April 24 fundraiser, visit the event's Facebook page, titled "We Rise By Lifting Others Fundraising Event For David and Shelby Jackson.")