BUTTE — About a month after five teenagers miraculously survived when their car plummeted off a cliff north of Butte, one of those teens is sharing her story of recovery.
On April 7, 15-year-old Evelyn Hardman and four of her friends were joyriding during their school lunch break. She remembers speeding through Uptown Butte but does not remember anything else about the crash.
"I just kinda remember a lot of glass, and the windows were shattered and... I kind of like... went blank. Like, the next thing I remember was kind of like being surrounded by EMTs and stuff," Evelyn said.
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Several days after the crash, I spoke with 15-year-old Carson Hanson, who was seated next to Evelyn in the back seat. He said after speeding around a corner, the driver overcorrected and lost control. The car sped off a 40-foot cliff and flipped several times. Evelyn was seated in back between two friends. Nobody was wearing a seatbelt.
"I just kind of felt like it was all a dream. Like, you know, when you wake up from a nightmare kind of? That's just kind of what it felt like," Evelyn said.
All five children were taken to the Butte hospital, but Carson and Evelyn were eventually flown to Billings.
Evelyn's mother, Kate Hardman, detailed her daughter's injuries. Evelyn broke both her radius and ulna in her wrist.
"The hand kind of twisted, and jarred down a little, and so the ulna went through the growth plate," Kate said.
Evelyn also endured compression fractures in her spine as well as a traumatic brain injury. For the active teen, the road to recovery is long, but she is working to overcome her injuries with daily exercises and regular physical therapy. In June, she will be off her back brace and undergo dental surgery.
"It's miraculous that all have survived with the ability to walk. I mean, nobody broke their neck, it's.... a miracle," Kate said.
Evelyn said the experience has opened her eyes to safe driving habits.
"It's just like dangerous to speed because it's not just your life you're taking care of...it's other people's..." Evelyn said.
Kate also had a message for passengers who find themselves in an unsafe situation.
"I would like to speak from the standpoint of a passenger...if you don't feel safe in the car with the person you are with, you get out, and you call your mom, you call your dad, you call your best friend. You call whoever you need to come and get you," Kate said.
Medical bills from the accident are piling up. The air ambulance from Butte to Billings alone costs over $60,000. Both Evelyn and Carson are continuing to raise money to cover expenses.
Carson will have a medical benefit on June 11at the Butte Brewery from 5 pm to 8 pm, as well as a pool tournament on June 13 at the Pair a Dice Bar. For more information, call John Yount at 406-491-1503.
"My family and I are incredibly grateful for everyone who has donated, everyone who has reached out, come over, and offered kind thoughts. All of the medical staff here in Butte, as well as in Billings. It's definitely been a community rallying around all of these kids, and we have felt that, and we're very grateful," said Kate Hardman.
GoFundMe accounts have been set up for Hanson and Evelyn's medical care.
