By ANNE-MARIE EMERSON
A CAR restraint probably saved a baby's life last night during an accident on a speed blackspot in Rapanui Rd.
The baby was in a restraint and securely belted into the back seat when the car, driven by the baby's mother and heading toward Wanganui, went out of control on a right-hand corner, hit a tree and split in two.
The front of the car, including the engine, landed on the opposite side of the road, while the rest of the car ended up down a bank.
Senior station officer Bryce Coneybeer, of the Wanganui Fire Service, said when his crews arrived at the scene just before 8pm, they found the woman lying beside the car and the baby still in the car, uninjured.
"The restraint more than likely saved its life," he said.
Rapanui Rd was closed for an hour while emergency services tended to the woman and her baby, and cleared the scene.
The woman was admitted to Wanganui Hospital, but her condition was not available last night.
Sergeant Colin Wright, of Wanganui police, said the cause of the accident was not yet known.
He said there had been numerous accidents on the same stretch of road.
"We do have serious speed issues on this road."
That was echoed by Rapanui Rd residents, who said they were getting used to accidents happening in their neighbourhood.
"There are too many people speeding, at all hours of the day and night," one woman said.
None of the residents spoken to by the Wanganui Chronicle had witnessed the accident, although all had heard it.
"We heard a strange noise, then a loud bang and we knew straight away there had been an accident."
Child restraint saves baby in Rapanui Rd smash
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