Cara Steele, 34, said Albie's rear-facing seat prevented him from being internally decapitated (Image: MEN media) Cara Steele’s 18-month-old son Albie was securely strapped into his seat in the back of her car when a pick-up truck ploughed into the Vauxhall Astra Estate from behind. The impact was so fierce the entire boot of her car was crushed inwards towards where little Albie was sitting in his rear-facing car seat. In a detailed post on social media that has been shared thousands of times, Ms Steele, 34, said her son miraculously escaped with little more than a few cuts and bruises and an X-ray showed she had no fractures. Related articles Toddler fighting for his life after falling into BOILING crockpot s... Cystic fibrosis scandal: Little Eve makes 65 roses in plea for drug But a paramedic and a traffic officer told her if the child’s seat had been facing towards the front of the car it could have been fatal. The teacher said her boy could have been “internally decapitated” - a term referring to when the ligaments attaching the skull to the spine are severed. The often-fatal injury is rare but children are more likely to suffer it in a crash than adults. Less than a third of cases do not result in immediate death. Ms Steele was just one mile away from her home in Chapel en le Frith, Derbyshire, when the crash happened on Monday night. The 18-month-old little boy could have been internally decapitated if his seat was front-facing (Image: MEN media) Albie's car seat was facing the back of the car which mean the impact was reduced when the truck hit (Image: MEN media) She said: “If this makes one person consider extended rear-facing, or turning their child back to rear-facing then my story has helped somebody. “Albie is only 18 months old but he will rear-face until he’s 25kg. “There’s so much information out there about the benefits of rear-facing, I only ask that people educate themselves with it.” Two men rushed to the rescue and helped Albie out of the car while Ms Steele got out through the passenger door. Related articles Alfie Lamb: Mother found guilty of cruelty after boy crushed in car Child’s bed bounce ends with a freak injury Thankfully, little Albie escaped with a few cuts and bruises (Image: MEN media) The mum said her toddler was asleep when the truck hit the car so he would have been in a relaxed position which likely prevented whiplash. She said: “Albie had a couple of bruises on his leg, a small cut on his eye and on one of his legs, which we think came from the glass, but very superficial.” She added: “We were told that if he had been forward facing he would have risked severe spinal injury or even internal decapitation.” Ms Steele said if the car had been a smaller model the impact on Albie could have been worse, adding: “Thank God for the huge boot space.” A 19-year-old man was arrested at the scene of the crash and has been charged with one count of aggravated vehicle taking and one count of driving without insurance, Derbyshire Police said. All rights reserved for this news site express.co.uk and under his responsibility