Unrestrained toddlers injured in Waikato crash

Two unrestrained toddlers suffered serious injuries in a Waikato crash today after the car they were passengers in rolled.

Police said the children, a boy aged two and a girl aged four, a woman who also suffered serious injuries and a male driver, were in the ute when it rolled on Te Ohaki Rd in Te Kauwhata shortly after 11am this morning.

Waikato Road Policing Manager Inspector Leo Tooman said two of the passengers were flown to Waikato Hospital by helicopter while the other two were taken in an ambulance.

Mr Tooman said they believed the children were not properly secured.

"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," he said.

He said the children appeared to have been sitting on a bench seat between the driver's and passenger's seats in the front, with a lap belt over them.

"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," he said.

Yesterday, a 21-month-old Waikato girl was struck by a car in a Bowentown driveway while on Monday, two-year-old Isabella Thompson was killed after she was run over by her father in the driveway of their Whatawhata home.

The male driver of the Holden Rodeo single cab flat deck ute involved in today's crash suffered minor to moderate injuries in the crash.

Mr Tooman said police were still working to establish exactly what had happened but no other vehicle had been involved in the crash.

- © Fairfax NZ News