The 21-year-old mother, who cannot be identified, was visibly upset as she pleaded guilty during an arraignment in Tamworth District Court on Friday. 

The woman, who appeared via audio-visual-link from Silverwater Women’s Correctional Centre, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving occasioning death and dangerous driving occasioning grievous bodily harm.

The charges relate to the horrific crash on the New England Highway on August 17 last year in which her two-year-old daughter was killed and her then 11-month-old son was seriously injured. 

Judge Jeffrey McLennan accepted the guilty pleas but was informed an agreed statement of facts was not ready to be tendered. 

The woman’s solicitor, Stephen O'Reilly, requested the matter be transferred to the Sydney District Court for sentence because the woman’s instructing barrister was based there and his client was being held on remand at a Sydney jail. 

Judge McLennan questioned if there was any reason why the case should not be heard in Sydney, but Mr O'Reilly indicated the family did not object to the case being moved. “In the absence of any competing interests of transferring it to Sydney it is a perfectly good reason," Judge McLennan said, while formally refusing the woman bail. 

The Crown prosecutor said once a plea was entered to a charge of driving while disqualified, the other sequences would be withdrawn.

The guilty pleas come four days after the 21-year-old was due to stand trial on charges stemming from the fatal crash. Two family members, seated in the public gallery, waved as the woman appeared on the screen and appeared visibly upset as they left the court precinct.  

The woman was driving from Gunnedah to the Hunter when she allegedly lost control of the sedan before the car left the road and crashed. 

The impact of the crash killed the two-year-old girl, who police allege was seated in the front seat without a proper restraint. 

The case has been adjourned to fix a sentence date.