A 20-year-old disqualified L-plate driver was behind the wheel of a van carrying eight other members of her family when it smashed head-on into another van in Sydney's west, resulting in the death of a toddler.
Two-year-old Anelina Nauer died in hospital on Tuesday while a three-year-old boy and a 59-year-old man were initially left in a critical condition following the Kemps Creek collision.
NSW Ambulance officers described the scene as "chaotic".
"A 20-year-old female driver has now been identified to be a person with a suspended licence," Chief Inspector Phil Brooks told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.
He wouldn't elaborate on why the woman's licence had been suspended.
The nine family members - three adults and six children ranging from nine months to 16 years old - were all from Griffith in western NSW.
They were travelling in a Toyota HiAce minibus, police said on Wednesday, while one person was driving the commercial van.
Chief Insp Brooks said investigators were concerned the children may not have been wearing seatbelts at the time.
"This issue does reflect the need to make sure our children, our greatest assets, are properly restrained in proper child restraints," he said.
The 20-year-old female driver suffered minor injuries and remains at Westmead Hospital. She will be interviewed by police when she's deemed fit enough.
It is believed the family was travelling to Sydney to drop some members at the airport.
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for the family.
