Drunk driver Muzzo seeks day parole
Hearing next month for man convicted of killing grandfather, 3 kids in van
Convicted drunk driver Marco Muzzo — who crashed into a minivan in 2015 killing three children and their grandfather — will have a hearing for day parole on Nov. 7.
Muzzo pleaded guilty in 2016 to several counts of impaired driving causing death and bodily harm for the crash that killed 65-year-old Gary Neville and his three grandchildren, Daniel Neville-Lake, 9, Harrison, 5, and Milagros, 2. The children’s grandmother and great-grandmother were also seriously injured. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison and banned from driving for 12 years.
“For as long as Mr. Muzzo has been alive, courts have warned about the consequences of impaired driving,” Newmarket Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuerst said when she sentenced the then-29-year-old Muzzo in March 2016. “Yet the message escaped him. It is important that it does not escape others. The high degree of Mr. Muzzo’s moral blameworthiness, com- bined with the enormous and far-reaching consequences of his offences, sets this case apart from others.”
The case attracted widespread attention due to the young age of many of the victims and the Muzzo family’s enormous wealth — estimated at $1.8 billion, according to Canadian Business magazine.
It also marked a turning point in the sentencing range for impaired driving causing death, which had previously been about four to eight years in prison, even though the offence carries a maximum term of life in prison.
Legal experts said at the time that Muzzo’s 10-year sentence was probably the highest in Canadian history for an offender with no criminal record and who had pleaded guilty.
“None of my children saw 10 years. None,” Jennifer NevilleLake said after Muzzo’s sentencing. “When you choose to drink and drive, you’re hurt- ing other families. You’re killing someone else’s babies.”
Court heard that Muzzo’s blood-alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit when he ran a stop sign in Vaughan in September 2015 and crashed into the minivan. He had picked up his vehicle at Pearson airport after returning from his bachelor party in Miami on a private plane.
Offenders typically go to a halfway house if granted day parole. They can also cancel or postpone their parole hearing right up to the last minute. Muzzo will be eligible for full parole in May next year.