Suspected drunk driver remanded in custody
An accused drunk driver involved in a Toronto-area crash that claimed the lives of three children and their grandfather has been remanded in custody until his bail hearing on Oct. 19.
Marco Muzzo, 29, was in handcuffs when he entered the courtroom wearing jeans and a black short-sleeved shirt overtop a white one. He glanced at his fiancee — whom he was scheduled to marry on Oct. 17 — but did not speak during the hearing.
His mother Dawn Muzzo and other family members were accompanied inside the Newmarket, Ont., courthouse by men who appeared to be security guards, and were escorted out by police officers who cleared a path to the family’s cars.
A woman shouted “Justice!’’ at the family as they got into their vehicles.
Outside the courthouse, Muzzo’s highpowered defence lawyer, Brian Greenspan, said his client wants to express his condolences to the family of the victims following the crash in Vaughan, Ont., on Sunday.
“Marco is, first of all, devastated by the horrific loss of life and has expressed to me on numerous occasions his condolences and sympathy to the family. This is obviously a tragic situation,’’ he said.
Greenspan said it was “premature’’ to discuss how his client would plead and would not comment on where Muzzo was before the Sunday afternoon crash, saying only that the information would come out in court.
Muzzo, of King Township, Ont., is facing a dozen impaired-driving offences and six charges related to the dangerous operation of a motor vehicle after he allegedly smashed into the family’s minivan.
Candlelight vigils were held Thursday for Daniel Neville-Lake, 9, his brother Harrison, 5, their sister Milly, 2, and the kids’ 65-year-old grandfather who died following the crash.
The Muzzo family owns the construction company Marel Contractors and is worth nearly $1.8 billion, according to Canadian Business magazine.
A spokeswoman for the local MADD chapter who went to the courthouse as a show of support for the Neville-Lake family said it was unfortunate that it took a tragedy to draw attention to the dangers of drunk driving.
“My heart aches for the family... we just want to show support for the victims,’’ Kathy Mitchell said. “It’s a tragedy.’’
Greenspan said the date of the bail hearing — which coincides with the federal election — is purely coincidental.