BUXTON, N.D. -- A high school senior from Buxton is improving at a Fargo hospital, after his car collided with a train on Thursday, Sept. 19, while he was driving to school.

With the prayers and support of the community, Jack Knudsvig's family says they are still hoping for a full recovery as they await a long-term prognosis.

There was an encouraging sign at Sanford Hospital on Wednesday, Sept. 25, as the 18-year-old was taken off heavy sedation.

"He's able to squeeze the doctor's hand when asked; he's able to put his thumb up when asked; he's able to move his toes and his legs a little bit. And his eyes open, but he can't really focus yet," said Jack's father, David Knudsvig.

Jack's doing better than they thought he would at this point, he said. "Every time the doctors come in and smile, they say that's what we want to see," David said.

A member of the 2024 homecoming court at Central Valley School in Buxton, Jack suffered a traumatic brain injury, a fractured skull and sternum and several facial bones were shattered when his SUV hit a moving train on his way to school that Thursday morning.

David, who's the assistant fire chief in Buxton, was alerted to the accident moments after the crash. Immediately after the page went out, David checked an app his family uses to track one another. It showed Jack's car next to the railroad tracks, just three miles from home.

"It was quite a time to be alone, I did not know what to expect," David said.

David was the first on the scene. Two crew members from the train were helping Jack. David said he jumped out of his pickup, asking if his son was breathing.

"I have had to put a lot of people in body bags, and I just didn't want that for my son at 18 years old," David said.

Since news of the devastating crash, the region has rallied around Jack and the family. Support from high school athletic teams, even though Jack doesn't play sports. A GoFundMe to help Jack buy a new car, along with his high school class selling "We Got Your Back Jack" T-shirts.

"We love him because he is part of our family, but to see so many other people that love him so much, it just makes you feel so good," Ellie Knudsvig, Jack's sister, said.

While a lot of the support has been for Jack's close family and friends, his father said it is just as important to rally around his classmates. They were given the opportunity to privately visit with Jack over the weekend at the hospital.

"There is a lot of pain going through all these kids, and they need help just as much as we do," David said.

The support has been like a "waterfall" from the doctors at Sanford and the community. "It's just absolutely incredible the power of people and their prayers and good thoughts; it's helping Jack every day and it's helping us," David said.

Jack's father also can't help but to think of what ifs. As Jack left for school that Thursday morning, David stopped him for a couple of seconds to make sure he had put on deodorant; those seconds could have saved Jack's life. He hit the second engine on the train that was going roughly 45 miles per hour.

David said they likely will never know why Jack crashed into the moving train, but said the glare of the sunrise, and his son still being a little groggy from waking up, could have been factors.