Accused drunk driver expected to plead guilty

The man accused of drunk driving in a horrific crash that killed three young children and their grandfather has pleaded guilty to six charges.

Muzzo is facing four counts of drunk driving causing death. Daniel, 9, Harrison, 5, Milly, 2, and 65-year-old Gary Neville died.

He also pled guilty to critically injuring the children’s grandmother Neriza Neville, and great grandmother Josephina Frias.

Muzzo’s lawyer Brian Greenspan argued that his client should be released on “strict terms” until sentencing takes place on February 23 and possibly February 24.

“I was always afraid to call him what he is: a drunk driver”, Neville-Lake said.

Daniel, the oldest of her three children, would have turned 10 Wednesday, Neville-Lake said while holding up a school portrait of the boy taken just two days before his death.

On the day that the Neville-Lakes were killed, Muzzo landed in Toronto by a private jet from Miami.

Speaking with reporters outside the courthouse, the mother of the children said that while Muzzo’s release on bail is “unfortunate”, she can find some relief in knowing that he will ultimately pay for his actions.

“It was his bachelor party trip… the first time he had ever flown on the corporate plane”, Greenspan said.

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

Despite the judge’s decision to grant bail, Neville-Lake is hoping for harsher punishment for impaired drivers.

Police officers who interviewed Muzzo at the scene said he smelled of alcohol, his eyes were glassy, and he tried to use the vehicle to keep his balance. After the crash with the Caravan, at the intersection of Kirby Road and Kipling Avenue in Vaughan, Muzzo hit a white Mercedes, court heard.

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

Muzzo’s previous offences occurred throughout the Toronto area, from Richmond Hill to Newmarket, Orillia and Mississauga, the ministry said.

The Muzzo family, one of Canada’s wealthiest, released a statement after their son’s arrest saying they were “greatly saddened” by the tragedy, and expressed their “deepest sympathy” to the Neville-Lake family.

In Canadian Business Magazine’s ranking of the top 100 wealthiest Canadians, the Muzzo estate ranks 52nd, worth more than $1.7-billion.