Thursday a Bothell husband and father pulled himself away from his daughter's bedside vigil to say "thank you" to people who were there when the crash happened because he knows without them it could have been so much worse.

"There were some good Samaritans and heroes on the scene despite risk to themselves who took action, that I'm convinced made a difference for my family," said John Holschen.

On Wednesday Dec. 15 John Holschen was in Iraq working a security detail for the U.S. State Department. At the same time, his wife Martha and four of his five children were in Smokey Point, on I-5, trapped inside their Chevy.

The Holschens were in a car crash with two other cars. One car was on fire and threatening to devour the Holschen's car.

That's when a Good Samaritan attached a tow strap to their Chevy and pulled it to safety.

"If he had not done that we would be mourning the loss of more family members today," said John through his tears.

John lost his twin daughter, Marijke,18. She was in the passenger seat of the Chevy.

"She was a beautiful young lady with a lot of promise," remembers John.

His 15-year-old daughter, Jolie, is now in a coma. But just one week later, she's surprising her doctor.

Dr. Avery Nathens explained, "A lot of patients with this severe head injury don't make it this far."

But Jolie gave her family an early Christmas gift. She moved her hand and squeezed a finger.

"She is in a much better place today than she was yesterday and that's the important thing," said John.

John's wife Martha is improving and was in satisfactory condition Thursday. She still faces a long road to recovery and so does Jolie.

Jolie will be hospitalized for at least two more weeks and will need more surgery.

If you want to help the family with their medical expenses accounts have been set up at Washington Mutual and Wells Fargo banks.