A North Carolina pastor who lost both of his baby sons in a car accident said that he and his wife have forgiven the man who caused the accident.

Pastor Gentry Eddings of Forest Hill Church in Charlotte was driving home in a car separate from his pregnant wife Hadley and his two year old son Dobbs.  The car driven by Hadley was struck from behind by a box truck driven by 28-year-old Matthew Deans.

Dobbs died in the accident.  Their other son, Reed, was delivered via emergency C-section but died two days later.

Deans has been charged with two counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle and a count of failure to reduce speed.

“We have, in our hearts, forgiven the man who did this,” Eddings proclaimed at the funeral for his sons. “It was not the easiest thing to do, but in some ways it was because we know — Hadley and I — that Jesus Christ has forgiven us our debt. … So in some ways, it was very easy to forgive a man who made an accident.”

Members of the congregation set up a fund to pay for the funeral expenses and raised almost $200,000 in nine days to help the family.

The pastor and his wife’s choosing to forgive and show Christ to the driver has also made waves in the secular world, with magazines such as People featuring the couple and their hard choice.