Toddlers in ute shared lap belt on bench seat

A 3-year-old girl was sharing a bench seat lap belt with her 2-year-old brother when their family ute rolled in the Waikato yesterday, critically injuring her and her mother.

It is understood the children were perched between their parents in their Holden Rodeo single-cab utility when the accident occurred on Te Ohaki Rd in Te Kauwhata, north of Huntly, just after 11am.

Police are investigating why the ute rolled and landed upside down on the roadside fence.

The toddler and her 40-year-old mother were flown to Waikato Hospital by the Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance and were last night critical in the hospital's intensive care unit.

Paramedics drove the boy and his 38-year-old father to hospital and they were last night in the emergency department.

Westpac Waikato Air Ambulance pilot Dan Harcourt, who attended the crash, said the girl had serious head injuries and the mother critical chest injuries.

Waikato road policing manager Inspector Leo Tooman said the lap belt used to restrain the children was "totally inadequate".

"There were no child car restraints in the utility at the time of the crash, which is extremely disappointing given the high profile we have been giving to the issue of car restraints lately," he said.

"Even more disturbing is that two young children have suffered serious injury in avoidable circumstances the same week one child was killed and another seriously injured in incidents involving vehicles in theWaikato."

Mr Tooman was referring to the accidental death of 2-year-old Isabella Thompson on Monday after her father backed into her on the driveway.

Less than 24 hours later a 21-month-old girl suffered serious head injuries when she was run over by a car leaving the driveway of a kohanga reo at a marae near Bowentown, about 12km from Waihi in the Bay of Plenty.

Mr Tooman urged motorists tobe particularly careful aroundchildren and said that everyonetravelling in cars should be properly restrained.

Automobile Association spokesman Mike Noon said yesterday's crash in the Waikato was a huge tragedy for the family involved and urged people to buckle up properly.

Children should be restrained in booster seats until they reached the height of 1.48m, he said. "They may be 10 or 12, which is quite difficult because kids that age might resist it."