The 48-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had her two grandchildren in incorrectly-sized car seats on the afternoon of August 20, 2020 when she drove them from her home in Nowra towards East Corrimal.

Her grandson was placed behind the front passenger seat in a child restraint, which was sized for a four-year-old and had no cushioning or padding, while her granddaughter was placed in a booster seat.

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At about 1.45pm, the grandmother was driving north along the Princes Highway through Albion Park Rail while a male driver was in a HiAce van travelling southbound. Both were in the closest lane to oncoming traffic.

The woman became distracted by her grandchildren and turned around to talk to them, which caused the car to swerve multiple times.

It veered onto the other side of the road and collided head-on with the van. Neither driver had time to press their brakes.

Paramedics had to remove the two-year-old boy from his child restraint before he was flown to Sydney Children's Hospital with a serious spinal injury which resulted in paraplegia and he also suffered a perforated bowel.

The young girl was removed from the car by members of the public and treated by paramedics. She was taken to Wollongong Hospital with bruising to her right hip and superficial grazes to her chest.

Paramedics also had to free the grandmother who was trapped in her Mitsubishi Lancer and she was taken to Wollongong Hospital with serious injuries.

The male driver was able to exit the van and sustained bruising to his left shoulder and ribs, a sore neck and a scratch to his arm.

Police examined the car and determined it had no faults or defects.

During an interview with police in October 2020, the grandmother said she could not remember what happened immediately prior to the collision and admitted she had a "bad habit" of turning and talking to the children or attending to their needs while driving.

She was charged a month later and her licence was suspended.

The woman faced Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday where she pleaded guilty to driving dangerously causing grievous bodily harm and two counts of causing bodily harm by wilful neglect while in charge of a motor vehicle.

Her case was adjourned to May 13 where she will receive a date to be sentenced in Wollongong District Court.

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