Police slam lack of child safety following accident

Two toddlers have been injured in a car crash after they were improperly belted up in the front seat of a ute.

A family of four's ute rolled just north of Huntly this morning and landed upside down on a fence.

The woman suffered a critical chest injury, and two children, a boy aged 2-1/2 and a girl aged 4-1/2, suffered serious injuries.

The male driver suffered minor to moderate injuries.

The children were thought to have had a lap belt across them as they sat on a small bench seat between the two adults, something police described as "totally inadequate".

"There were no child car restraint seats 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," said Waikato road policing manager, Inspector Leo Tooman.

"Even more disturbing is the fact 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 the Waikato."

On Monday, 21-month-old Isabella Thompson was run over and killed in her driveway in Whatawhata. Another 21-month-old girl suffered serious head injuries after she was run over by the car leaving a marae n ear Waihi Beach yesterday.

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