A close family friend of Mrs Bradley and her husband Justin, Jason Sharman, said the 40-year-old would likely spend Christmas in hospital.
"She has got to undergo a number of surgeries, she has already undergone a couple, we are just waiting, really, as to how long that is going to take," Mr Sharman said.
"Aria is out of hospital and she was very, very lucky, so she is back home with her dad. Obviously Pauline is in a lot worse shape and still in North Shore Hospital."
The mother of three suffered extensive injuries including a severely broken left arm, a collapsed lung, internal abdominal injuries, a shattered left ankle, torn ligaments and a fractured pelvis.
Mrs Bradley had been out with her daughter Christmas shopping and picking up groceries and was just a few hundred metres from Twin Springs Rd, where she lives, when the crash happened.
Mr Sharman said he and Mrs Bradley's family were just relieved she was alive and they weren't "preparing for a funeral".
"Firstly, thank God she is alive, both her and Aria but the second part, we are really pleased that for all intents and purposes, she will be able to walk again," he said.
"They are a lovely young family who have got a lot ahead of them right now."
Police are still investigating what caused the Toyota to come into the path of the Mazda, but believe a white ute was driving behind the Corolla and may have rear-ended the car, shunting it into the Mazda's path.
"The white ute didn't stop at the scene and we need to identify it and the driver," Senior Constable Paul Hayward of the Waitemata Police Serious Crash Unit said.
"It's described as a single cab ute, in an older style-square shape. It had a wooden deck/tray with no obvious sign-writing."
The force of the crash was so bad it knocked the motor out of the Toyota, sending it flying between 20m to 50m.
"The impact dislodged the motor and it just flipped across the road and across the berm and was just about on the railway lines," Helensville chief fire officer Ian Osborne said.
Firefighters worked for around 20 minutes to free Mrs Bradley from the car.
"The vehicle had sort of collapsed around her, we did remove the roof," he said.
Once freed, Mrs Bradley was airlifted to Auckland Hospital in a critical condition, while the two men were taken to the same hospital in serious conditions.
Aria suffered only minor injuries.
"Had it not been for the carseat that the toddler was in, she might have been seriously or fatally injured," Mr Hayward said.
Ana Guerrero was one of the first people at the scene following the crash, and said she did not think Mrs Bradley would make it.
"It was a really bad crash. The white car had completely no motor on it, it was ripped in half, with a man trapped in it.
"And the other car was really badly damaged and there was a lady inside with her baby daughter. And she was in a really, really bad state. Not moving at all."
People stopped to help out, some with first aid while others directed traffic around the scene until emergency services arrived, she said, but described feeling helpless.
Mrs Bradley remains in Auckland Hospital in a stable condition.
Anyone who saw a ute fitting the police description in the Helensville/State Highway 16 area around 7.50pm on Friday, or anyone who witnessed the events leading up to or the actual collision, is asked to contact Senior Constable Paul Hayward on 09 481 0773.
