A US toddler survived some 12 hours in the bitter cold next to her mother who was found dead after the car they were in hurtled off a bridge in the state of Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

A fisherman found the 18-month-old child and woman Saturday in the overturned vehicle in a river below the bridge.

The daughter apparently spent hours upside down in a car seat, the report said.

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

Spanish Fork, Utah police identified the mother as Lynn Jennifer Groesbeck, 25.

Groesbeck’s family said she was driving to her home Friday night 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.