A young mother was to have surgery yesterday after crashing her car into a tree near Upokongaro.
The 22-year-old had her 2-year-old daughter in a car seat in the back of the car when she hit the tree about 9.40am.
The toddler was unhurt, but the driver had leg injuries, Whanganui Fire Senior Station Officer Jemal Weston said.
Firefighters comforted the child with teddy bears as others assisted the driver.
Mr Weston said it was good the child was in a car seat.
Constable David Carter said police had not been able to talk to the driver yet.
But, he said, "at this point in time, just from the outside looking in", it appeared the crash would have happened due to a combination of "a little bit of speed and a very wet road".
St John duty manager Trudy Taylor said the woman had moderate injuries and was about to go into surgery yesterday afternoon.