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AURORA, Colo. — The young girl critically injured in a crash on Christmas Eve that killed her mother is out of the hospital and back at home. Six-year-old Charlee Shaw was released from Children’s Hospital Colorado Wednesday nearly two months after an alleged drunk driver hit their SUV on Interstate 70 in Genessee.

“We are over-the-moon happy right now to be able to go home,” said Charlee’s father, Brett Shaw. The family lives in Routt County, but Brett has been in the Denver area since the crash while Charlee received treatment at Children’s in Aurora.

Charlee has conquered milestone after milestone since the crash. As she left the hospital, she said she was most excited about seeing her cat, Belle.

“There’s a gamut of emotions going on, but [we] feel very blessed to be going home. We are excited to get us all under one roof again, and start moving forward on this journey together,” said Brett.

Charlee’s three brothers are also excited to have her home.

“I’m really excited that we can eventually have more sleepovers in each other’s rooms and go sledding and play with her more,” said Mason.

“We’re all with our family again. And she gets to be with her pets and us,” said Jaxon.

Brett said the family will have to determine what their “new norm” looks like.

“We are so excited for Charlee’s continued progress. I’m really looking forward to seeing how she develops in the coming weeks and months, being in her home, being around her brothers and friends, and being back in school and being able to go and be with her church family,” said Brett.

The emergency workers who responded to the crash on Dec. 24 were on hand to wish Charlee well as she made her way home.

“Pretty overwhelming to see a scene like that where you have cars and pieces and emergency vehicles everywhere. You land there and they’re running at you with a little girl like this. To help someone like this and see them go home… it’s amazing,” said flight nurse for AirLife Denver Matt Swider

Brett has been open about the recovery since the accident which took the life of his wife, Sancy. He and other family members have posted updates in a blog.

Brett credits Charlee for guiding him through the tragedy.

“Her recovery and my recovery, in a sense, have been on a parallel path. She would continue to make strides and that would motivate me to make strides and things would get a little bit better for me. We’re going to continue to lift each other up and motivate each other to work through this together. Every milestone has been incredible. Every day is a little better. It is still a marathon,” Brett said.

Brett and his family are trying to turn a tragedy into something positive.

“We have an opportunity to bring about change, maybe cause people to reassess their priorities, maybe reevaluate their responsibility to their family and general public and making wise decisions. If we can bring about that positive change, it just makes it a little bit better. One wrong decision about getting behind the wheel can affect a family for generations,” Brett said.

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