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Marco Muzzo sentenced to 10 years in prison for Vaughan crash that killed 4

Muzzo will also be banned from driving for 12 years after he gets out of prison

CBC News Posted: Mar 29, 2016 5:00 AM ETLast Updated: Mar 29, 2016 12:31 PM ET

 
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Convicted impaired driver Marco Muzzo was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison in connection to a Vaughan, Ont., crash that killed four people and seriously injured two others.

 
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Marco Muzzo gets 10 years for Vaughan crash that killed 43:21

Ontario Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuerst announced the sentence in Newmarket, Ont., court Tuesday morning.

Vaughan crash

Harry, Milly and Daniel were identified as the three children of the Neville-Lake family killed in a crash in Vaughan, Ont. Their 65-year-old grandfather was also killed. (Gofundme.com)

Fuerst gave Muzzo eight months' credit for time spent in custody, so the 29-year-old will only serve nine years and four months of his 10-year sentence. The impaired driving sentence also stipulates that Muzzo will be banned from driving for 12 years after he gets out of prison.

Defence lawyer Brian Greenspan said Muzzo will begin serving his sentence today and will be eligible for parole after serving one-third of it. Greenspan confirmed that means that Muzzo will spent at least three years in prison.

The driving ban will begin the day he is released from custody.

Muzzo pleaded guilty to four counts of impaired driving causing death and two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm. 

Fuerst said in her decision that the sentence must send a message to others to deter them from committing the same crime and reflect society's "abhorrence of the crime" — an argument that was put forward by the Crown when they asked that Muzzo be sentenced to between 10 and 12 years in prison and that he be prohibited from driving for eight to 12 years.

Vaughan Fatal Accident 20160204

Jennifer Neville-Lake holds photos of her son Daniel as she gives a statement outside the Newmarket courthouse following the release of Marco Muzzo on bail on Feb. 4. (Christopher Katsarov/Canadian Press)

 

Crown lawyer Paul Tait had acknowledged that there was no precedent for the judge to draw on when deciding on a sentence, given the number of victims and their ages. But he said Muzzo's actions were the equivalent of "having a loaded gun walking down the street."

The Crown told CBC News Tuesday they will not speak about the Muzzo sentencing.

"I'm tortured by the grief I caused," Muzzo told the court at his sentencing hearing on Feb. 24.

The crash on Sept. 27, 2015, killed three young Neville-Lake children, Daniel, 9, Harrison, 5, Milly, 2, and their grandfather, Gary Neville, 65. 

Marco Muzzo

Marco Muzzo shown here in a Facebook photo. (Facebook)

Two other extended family members, the children's grandmother and her mother, were injured in the crash.

"You killed all my babies," Jennifer Neville-Lake, mother of the three children, said in her victim impact statement on Feb. 23. "I miss my kids. I miss my dad." 

In her sentencing, Fuerst said that a "perfectly ordinary day was rendered catastrophic" because Muzzo decided to drink and drive and, as a result, a "life sentence has been inflicted on the Neville-Lake family." 

"In one fell swoop, he decimated an entire generation of the Neville-Lake family, its legacy and its future," said Fuerst.

The judge said aggravating factors in the case included Muzzo's "choice to drink and drive" and said that his prior speeding convictions reflected an "irresponsible attitude toward the privilege of driving." 

Marco Muzzo drunk driving

Marco Muzzo, right, leaves the Newmarket courthouse surrounded by family on Thursday, Feb. 4. (Christopher Katsarov/Canadian Press)

But Fuerst added that Muzzo's decision to plead guilty and the number of letters written by Muzzo's family and friends describing him as "humble" and thinking of others led her to believe he "is a person of good character." 

Muzzo was driving an SUV that collided with the minivan carrying the Neville-Lake family at Kipling Avenue and Kirby Road, north of Toronto. He had returned from a trip to Miami on a private jet on the day of the crash, picked up his Jeep from the airport parking lot and driven off. 

The SUV, according to an agreed statement of fact read in court, was travelling at 85 kilometres an hour when Muzzo went through a stop sign and struck the minivan, hitting the driver's side.

His blood-alcohol content at the time of the crash ranged from 0.19 to 0.25 per cent, which is two to three times the legal limit in Ontario.

Police officers who interviewed Muzzo at the scene said he smelled of alcohol, his eyes were glassy, and he tried to use the car to keep his balance. He was also unable to understand instructions from the officers, and urinated on himself.

Traffic and weather conditions were not a factor in the crash.

It was only after he arrived at the police station that Muzzo learned four people had died, the court heard.

Full responsibility

Muzzo was released on a $1-million bail and strict conditions after pleading guilty.

Greenspan has said that Muzzo has accepted "full responsibility" for what he did.

At the sentencing hearing, Greenspan submitted 92 letters of support for Muzzo, from friends, family members, neighbours and co-workers.

Greenspan told the court that Muzzo's actions amounted to "a terrible decision made by a very good person."

"It should be clear that the Muzzo family, and in particular Marco Muzzo, are heart-stricken by the grief that's been caused," Greenspan said.

Muzzo's family owns the drywall company Marel Contractors and is worth nearly $1.8 billion, according to Canadian Business magazine.

Muzzo had never been convicted of a criminal offence until he pleaded guilty on Feb. 4, according to the Ontario Ministry of the Attorney General.

Replies sorted oldest to newest

He killed four and injured two with a motor vehicle, he flew into Toronto on a private jet, he could have easily afford a taxi from the airport.The penalty does not justify the crime, he will be spending time in a townhouse with all the facilities and after a few months will be allowed day passes, in less than three years he will be free. This is another O.J Simpson type of trial, MONEY buys innocence.

K

I consider myself strong, but Jennifer's  pain might be too much to survive. Decades later my sister's murder still give me depressing Easters. The pain never seems to go away, especially with  Rosemarie Junor's murder.  

'None of my children saw 10 years,' Jennifer Neville-Lake says

'Choices are actions that have consequences,' says mother of children killed in crash

CBC News Posted: Mar 29, 2016 1:39 PM ETLast Updated: Mar 29, 2016 5:59 PM ET

 
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Jennifer Neville-Lake speaks after Marco Muzzo sentencing 6:19

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Ten years is what a judge sentenced convicted drunk driver Marco Muzzo to, and an age Jennifer Neville-Lake's children never lived to see.

"That's what going through my head right now â€” the fact that [Muzzo's] sentence is 10 years and none of my children saw 10 years. None," she said outside the Newmarket, Ont., courthouse after Muzzo's sentencing. 

Neville-Lake spoke of the day in September that she had to decide to let go of Milly, 2, and Harry, 5, in hospital.

"I couldn't pick which baby to turn off the machines first," she said through tears.

Vaughan crash

Harry, Milly and Daniel were killed in the crash in Vaughan, Ont., along with their 65-year-old grandfather, Gary Neville. (Gofundme.com)

She asked hospital staff to push their beds together and she and her husband, Ed Lake, crawled into bed to embrace them.

"We put our hands on top of theirs," she said, showing a photo of Milly and Harry holding hands before they died.

"Just like we were there with them when they were born, we were there with both of them when they died."

Jennifer Neville-Lake children holding hands

Milly and Harry held hands in hospital before they died, said their mother, Jennifer Neville-Lake. (CBC)

"They died hugged by us," she said.

"Family and friends sang to them Somewhere Over the Rainbow as we turned off the machines."

Neville-Lake held a green booklet filled with photos of her father and mother that culminated with images of the crash and the urns filled with the ashes of her children.

Jennifer Neville-Lake Marco Muzzo sentencing

Jennifer Neville-Lake holds up an image of her children's urns calling them the consequences of Marco Muzzo's 'choice.' (CBC)

With credit for time served, Muzzo's sentence will amount to nine years and four months.

Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuerst also imposed a 12-year driving ban on Muzzo, which will begin the day he is released from prison.

Muzzo was driving an SUV that collided with a minivan carrying six members of the Neville-Lake family on Sept. 27 in Vaughan, just north of Toronto. Daniel, 9, Harrison, 5, Milly, 2, and their grandfather, 65-year-old Gary Neville, all died.

"This was a choice made by an individual," Neville-Lake said. "Choices are actions that have consequences."

"When you choose to drink and drive, you're hurting other families. You're killing someone else's babies â€” like mine were killed."

Tola

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