MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WKRN) – A family in Murfreesboro is counting their blessings after a hit-and-run driver crashed into their house.

“There’s things to be thankful for,” Kevin Boydston said while nodding his head.

Among those things are a now-shattered statue of an angel found in the debris scattered outside of the Boydstons’ home on Antebellum Drive.

“We know she was protecting this house because when they hit this, my daughter’s room is right here,” Irene Boydston said. “Between this and when it hit it, that top floor started sagging.”

The Boydstons and their two teens were sleeping when they woke to the crash around 4 a.m. Sunday.

“My daughter said that lightning struck the house and I said, ‘What? That didn’t sound like lightning,'” Kevin explained. “My immediate thought was that the roof caved in, the bathtub fell through the floor because that’s what it sounded like, a crash. There was a large boom and then two follow up booms, not quite as bad, but it’s almost like somebody backed up and then gunned it again and hit the house again.”

The driver of a silver truck reportedly hit the garage and dining room before taking off.

“He just came by swerving and then sped off down the road.”

Now, the Boydstons have a hole on the side of their house with damage inside their dining room, but they are quick to point out that it’s just property.

The family is praising Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue who worked throughout the morning to stabilize the damage of the home that the family recently moved into from California, and while they are still unpacking boxes, they believe their angel served her purpose.

“She’s been with us for the last three or four houses we moved, and when the driver hit this house two or three times, he knocked this whole post out. The fire department built this and the angel is over there laying on the ground, part of her body and wing, and so we know that that angel protected our house. We really believe that. We’re believers and we know that that was a blessing by God; nobody got hurt,” Irene said.  

The Boydstons said the driver of the truck came back by their house later Sunday night and apologized.

“That was a big thing and I told the guy that. I said, ‘I’m glad you’re saying something and our kids were listening to it,’ that no matter what, you should do the right thing,” Kevin explained. “We thought that was a good lesson for all of us.”

Murfreesboro police plan to follow up with the driver, who could face leaving the scene of an accident and property damage charges.