An 18-month-old baby survived 12 hours in the freezing cold next to her dead mother after the car they were in hurtled off a bridge and crashed into a river in Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

The mother, Lynn Jennifer Groesbeck, 25 was killed in the accident and her daughter apparently spent hours upside down strapped in a car seat before being found by a fisherman on Saturday, the report said.

The man summoned police, who were able to get the little girl to emergency care.

Groesbeck's family said she was driving to her home at the time of the crash.

Police believe she struck the side of the bridge before plunging into the river.

The toddler is now stable but in critical condition at the hospital, the report added.