FOREST, MS (Mississippi News Now) -
John Thornton and Katrina Morris are shaken up, recounting the events that occurred around 1:30 am Thursday.
"I actually got up, went to the bathroom, went and laid back down in the bed," Thornton says, adding that moments later he heard the loud crunch of all of the limbs slicing down on the home.
"It came right down on top of them. It was truly a blessing that the one big limb coming down hit the back. I think that's what kept it from coming down, crushing them," he says.
Thornton and Morris say a huge limb on the tree kept the trunk suspended above girls. The 13 year old crawled out by herself. The 8 year old needed help from mom and dad.
"I was really in a shock when I seen all the debris and stuff on them. I couldn't see them at all. I could see the couch but I couldn't see the kids," Morris says.
Neighbors also heard the sound of the tree snapping up from the ground at the roots and toppling over.
"Like a big loud thumping noise, you know," Edwin Mitchell says.
"It sounded like Forest went straight down. It was a big boom," says Lillie Rodriguez.
On Thursday afternoon, they crowded in the yard assessing the damage themselves, marveling at the fact that everyone survived with hardly a scratch.
As Thornton and Morris salvage what they can out of the wreckage, they say the event will prove to be life-changing.
"Something to think about, (how much) worse it could have been," Thornton says. "They could have lost their lives, so pretty much thank God."
"My babies are OK. They were the ones that would have gotten hurt the most, not us. It would have been my girls. It wasn't nothing but God," Thornton says.
Thornton tells us the fire department and the police department responded quickly after he called 911. They came out to assist and also shut off the power.
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