Young couple 'in awe of presence of God' after miraculously surviving crash that 'should've chopped our bodies in half'

Two college sweethearts are thanking God no end after they miraculously survived a horrendous road accident that "should have chopped our bodies in half."

In her Facebook post, Arika Stovall says she and her boyfriend Hunter Hanks, both 21, were on their way home from Florida when their truck, travelling at 85 mph, collided with an interstate bridge support outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

Miraculously, the college students emerged virtually unscathed—without any broken bones or long-term concussions—despite the vehicle looking like it had, in Stovall's words, "been through a tree grinder."

A photo taken of the couple by a close friend, Savannah Gaines, a close friend of the couple, instantly went viral when Stovall posted it on Facebook. The photo shows the two young lovers face to face smiling and talking to each other at a hospital in Tennessee hours after the accident.

"It was unbelievable when they saw each other. I know them so well, and they love each other so much. They were completely blessed to walk away from that," Gaines says.

The photo already had more than 71,000 shares on Facebook on Saturday afternoon.

"We've gotten hundreds of messages just telling us that our story brought them out of a dark place in their life and changed their life," Stovall tells WTVF.

In a Facebook message she posted on Jan. 4, Stovall recalls their brush with death, saying she was "in awe of the presence of God in this entire situation."

"Every part of this experience we went through points directly to Him. The way God helped Hunter to respond exactly the way he did behind the wheel, spinning the truck exactly where it should have to be able to smash into the pillar directly in the middle of me and Hunter so we were both untouched...that doesn't just happen. God doesn't throw protection around like that for no reason. He does it because He's not finished with us," she says.

Stovall recalls that after the crash, she was still conscious—screaming, panicking and yelling for Hunter whose head, she says, went through the windshield, "a face full of blood and a body that wasn't moving."

She then saw a man, "bright with a big white beard. No other cars in sight...just this man. He was my guardian angel."

Stovall says the angelic-looking man told her an ambulance was already on its way.

"I asked this man when the ambulance was coming. He told me in just a second. He walked away, I blinked and a flashlight was in my face. The paramedics were there helping me and Hunter and the anxiety and worry if he was okay disappeared because we were in good hands," she says.

The miracle didn't end there. At the hospital where the two of them were brought, the doctors were amazed after finding out that they had no broken bones or internal damage. The doctors only had to make a few stitches in Stovall's knee and Hunter's face.

"We're both already released from the hospital not even 48 hours after entering," she says.

She recalls one image inside their crushed truck—"Hunter's Bible open, with a page marked with scripture telling us to not be afraid; Jesus is with us."

"I am amazed. Absolutely taken away by the presence of God. So blessed for him sending me an angel. So thankful for Hunter and his second chance at life...for his healing and health.

"We are so fortunate for families who traveled hundreds and hundreds of miles to be with us. And so thankful for all the thoughts and prayers that were sent our way. The power of prayer is real, and it healed me and Hunter," she writes.

"I want everyone to know the love and the power of God. He has a purpose...and it's so clear that NOTHING...not even a car accident like this one will cause his plans for you to change," Stovall says.

She ended her Facebook post with a prayer and a message to her readers: "I'm praying that everyone who reads this can get a glimpse of God's faithfulness. He is GOOD. And working. And the plans he has for YOU and your life aren't going anywhere. Good or bad, what you want or what you don't want...it's God's doing. It's his plans unfolding. It's his kingdom coming. Embrace the struggles and the joys of this life! Without a doubt it's a miracle we're alive, but more than that it's simply God's plan for us. We're so grateful for this wreck and all it will do in our lives. We are blessed to be okay. And so in love with the amazing God we serve."