A father charged with manslaughter after his six-year-old son died in a fiery crash near Rangiora can now be named

Lachlan Gebhardt died at the scene - after the car his father Niklas Gebhardt was allegedly driving, crashed at the bend of Lehmans Road in November

The 30-year-old was rushed to hospital in a critical condition - and treated for burns at Auckland's Middlemore Hospital

He's pleaded not guilty to a charge of dangerous driving causing death.

Gebhardt, a football player who represented Canterbury United, initially had name suppression - but it's now lapsed.

He'll next appear in court in September - with his trial set down for next July.