A toddler has survived a horror car crash in NSW’s Riverina region with only a few scrapes thanks to a life-saving car seat.
NSW Police responded to a collision between a ute and a truck near Coolamon, 40km from Wagga, on Tuesday and found the car crumpled beyond repair.
Incredibly, the three occupants inside the ute emerged from the crash unscathed with only minor cuts.
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Police said a young child sitting in the back only survived because they were fastened safely into a car seat.
An image of the wreckage was shared to the official Traffic and Highway Patrol Command – NSW Police Force Facebook page, which showed the front of the car had been crushed.
The child’s car seat in the back remained intact.
Officers issued a warning to other drivers about the importance of properly installed car seats for young children under the age of four.
“The collision highlighted the significant importance of child car seats being secured and the child appropriately fastened, which was thankfully the case in this instance,” NSW Police said in the social media post.
“During this collision, a young child was seated in an appropriate child car seat which was secured using both the anchor strap and ISOFIX, with the inbuilt harness fastened correctly over the child’s shoulders and across the hips.”
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The child escaped the crash with only minor cuts and the driver and other passenger also walked away with some scrapes.
The truck driver was not injured in the collision.
In NSW, children aged under 6 months must legally be secured in an approved rear-facing car seat.
Kids aged 6 months to 4 must sit in a rear or forward-facing approved seat with a harness.
Meanwhile, children aged between 4 and 7 must travel in a forward-facing approved seat with a harness or an approved booster seat.
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