Answer
No, the victim’s head is not actually thrown backward in this situation.
Work Step by Step
When the car is struck and jerks forward, there is a force acting between the seat and the victim’s torso that moves her body forward. However, the head is on a flexible stalk and remains almost stationary (following Newton’s law of inertia). The victim’s head may appear to be thrown backward, but that is only relative to the car, not to the Earth.
