A father who had consumed twice the legal limit of alcohol before driving and crashing his car, killing his 4-year-old son, has pleaded guilty over the death.

Daniel Steven Mehlhopt was travelling to Palmerston North with his son Dylan on February 3 when the car he was driving crashed at the intersection of State Highway 2 and Wahipai Close near Dannevirke at 4.20pm.

According to the police charge sheets Mehlhopt was twice the legal limit and has since been charged with excess blood alcohol causing death.

The legal alcohol limit for drivers aged 20 years and over is 250 micrograms (mcg) of alcohol per litre of breath and 50 milligrams (mg) per 100 millilitres (ml) of blood.

A Givealittle page set up to pay for his son Dylan’s funeral costs reached $17,000.

The page describes Dylan as a “vivacious, courageous little boy. An “old soul whose big dreams of doing everything and going everywhere were cut short far, far too soon”.

“Becoming a bmxing, dirtbiking, green-fingered engineer and more [dreams] were in his future - travelling the world, making the world smile,” the page reads.

Dylan’s mother Chloe Foster told the Hawke’s Bay App earlier this year that she was unable to comprehend, losing her “darling boy” whom she affectionately called her “mouse”.

She said that while her son had been born in Palmerston North he’d moved to Hawke’s Bay in 2018 with her.

According to the Hawke’s Bay App Chloe said her son wanted to be a policeman when he grew up so he could save people.

Today at the Palmerston North District Court Mehlhopt pleaded guilty to the sole charge and accepted the police summary of facts.

His lawyer Peter Foster told the court he would be seeking Restorative Justice.

Mehlhopt will be sentenced in July.

- Jeremy Wilkinson, Open Justice