A NINE-YEAR OLD girl survived for two days in a car wreck by eating Pop-Tarts and drinking Gatorade.

Jordan Landon’s father died in the single-car crash, which took place in North Carolina over the weekend.

Landon was airlifted to hospital after rescue teams cut her out of the 1995 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that had been upside down in a culvert since Friday night, the North Carolina Highway Patrol said.

Douglas Landon (39) was killed.

His daughter was described as “heroic” by a local sergeant, who said she was able to stay calm despite being trapped in the dark and cold.

She is expected to fully recover from her ordeal.

A person walking by saw the car off the state highway and called 911 on Sunday afternoon, more than 40 hours after the pair was believed to have crashed on their way to a store.

Temperatures at night had dropped into the 30s in the area in eastern North Carolina.

Police said the speedomoter on the car was stuck at more than 100mph, but a friend of Landon said he found it hard to believe he was going so fast.

In his final moments, family friend Kevin Brinson said Landon was trying to protect his daughter:

He was curled up in a ball with his arm right across his chest and his other arm pushed out across Jordan. He was trying to hold her and trying to keep her protected, he was a good father.

Her mother, Claudette Leohmann, said Jordan was recovering but was very upset about the loss of her father, who was Leohmann’s longtime boyfriend.