A 2-year-old girl who died and the driver who had the girl on her lap when their vehicle crashed have been identified as an aunt and her niece.

The wreck occurred about 7 p.m. Thursday south of Willmar in Kandiyohi County on SW. 225th Avenue and County Road 5, the Sheriff's Office said.

Kourtney Schwitters, 23, of Clara City, Minn., lost control of the vehicle on the road's "substantially loose gravel," a Sheriff's Office statement read. That sent the vehicle rolling into a ditch.

Schwitters, who was wearing a seat belt, suffered serious injuries and was taken to a hospital in Willmar.

Her niece, Myra Ahrenholz of Prinsburg, Minn., died while in an air ambulance that was heading to a Twin Cities hospital, according to the Sheriff's Office.

Authorities have not indicated what type of vehicle Schwitters was driving. An online obituary for the toddler characterized her fatal injuries as occurring "in a farm accident."

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482