Police from the Crash Investigation Unit in Tamworth have been investigating the head-on crash on the Newell Highway on September 15, in which a Ford Falcon hit an oncoming Kia Cerato about 10km north of Moree.

The impact of the crash critically injured a one-year-old, who was seated in the back of the Cerato.

He suffered a fractured vertebrae and was airlifted to Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital in Brisbane, where he remains in a serious but stable condition.

A nine-year-old girl who was a passenger in the same car also suffered serious abdominal injuries and later underwent emergency surgery.

A 30-year-old woman who was behind the wheel of the northbound Cerato suffered minor injuries in the crash and was released from hospital shortly after.

Investigators said two male passengers in the Falcon, aged 18 and 17, suffered minor injuries and have since been released from Moree hospital.

The driver, an 18-year-old man from Moree, was treated for spinal injuries by doctors.

Crash investigators have been examining the circumstances leading up to the crash and have charged the 18-year-old Falcon driver with two counts of dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm and one count of negligent driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.

Police will allege in court the man was driving inappropriately and dangerously immediately prior to the collision.

He has been granted conditional bail to answer the charges in court later this month.