NC pastor, wife expecting twins after losing sons in deadly crash

Gentry, who is a pastor at Forest Hill Church, and his wife Hadley, who teaches 4-year-olds at the church, expressed their gratitude to the community, which has supported them since the Memorial Day weekend accident.

"Y'all have held us up in prayer and we are so grateful," the post reads. "Now we ask you to add two more (Eddingses) to your prayers! We are expecting twins this summer!"

Matthew Deans, 28, was sentenced to 27 to 32 months in prison after the truck he was driving rear-ended Hadley's car on Highway 17. The family was returning from Gentry's sister's wedding on Memorial Day weekend when Deans crashed a box truck into the family's cars at a red light near Wilmington, North Carolina.

Dobbs Eddings, 2, was killed immediately. Reed Eddings, who had not yet been born, was delivered by emergency C-section but died at a hospital. Hadley Eddings was eight months pregnant.

"The Lord has not left us for one second in our grief of losing our two boys almost 2 years ago," the couple said in a statement. "God is a redeemer and a restorer! God blesses us beyond what we deserve or could ever imagine. We are excited that Dobbs and Reed are going to be big brothers to twins! We are so thankful for our family and so many friends who have prayed for us and cheered us on our way. We're rejoicing, and thank Jesus for these two precious little ones."

Deans pleaded guilty and apologized to the Eddingses in an emotional court hearing in September 2015.

The couple publicly announced that they forgave Deans.

"We are thankful that Matthew Deans was willing to accept responsibility for what has happened. We believe he was sincere in his apology. Our hearts still have compassion for him, and we were glad to have the opportunity to express our forgiveness to him directly. Our hope and prayer is that he would be restored and live a good life," the Eddingses said in a statement.