Longmont teen told she’ll never walk again after crash

Longmont community members are coming together to show their support for a local teenager whose spine was severed in a crash near Broomfield on Thursday.

Charlotte Funk, 16, was in a car with her boyfriend, Riley Adams, 19, who was driving on E-470, when he lost control of the car, said Funk’s aunt, Kyra Coates.

“Charlotte was basically thrown head-first through the windshield,” Coates said.

Neither Funk nor Adams were wearing seatbelts, and he was driving at high speeds before the crash, Coates explained. Funk suffered many injuries.

“She shattered her femur, she has lacerations in her spleen, damage to her kidney, she has multiple fractured ribs, multiple fractures in her spine, and then her spinal cord was basically severed,” she said. “She also broke her wrist on her left hand.”

Funk’s boyfriend suffered multiple spinal and neck fractures, but he’s expected to make a full recovery, Coates said.

Funk was transported to Children’s Hospital Colorado in Aurora, where she has since undergone three surgeries.

“They had to put a metal rod in her leg — her femur, and then multiple rods in her back for support,” her aunt explained. “She is still in a tremendous amount of pain.”

Doctors told the 16-year-old’s family she would never walk again.

Coates began a fundraiser for her niece, which as of Wednesday, had received more than $9,000 in donations.

“We can’t even wrap our head around everything that we’re going to have to pay for,” Coates said. “They’re going to have to find a new place to live — I mean, the place that they’ve been living is not even remotely handicap accessible. So it’s a long journey … it’s pretty overwhelming.”

The 16-year-old’s mother, Karrie Funk, is a single parent who is recovering from long COVID, Coates said.

“She hasn’t been able to work for a few months, so things were already financially strained for them,” Coates explained. “The last thing they need to be worrying about is if they’re going to pay the bills or not, let alone paying for all of these extra expenses.”

The mother hasn’t left her daughter’s hospital bed, Coates said.

“We had to tell her when to go to the bathroom and when to eat, because she was just so hyperfocused on Charlotte.”

In a few weeks, the teenager will spend her 17th birthday in the hospital. Local community members have been showing their support for the teenager’s family through donations and prayer circles.

“There is a lot of really beautiful community support,” Coates said.

While her niece is expected to never walk again, her aunt and others still have hope.

“Miracles happen,” Coates said.