CITATION: R. v. Muzzo, 2016 ONSC 2068
NEWMARKET COURT FILE NO.: CR-15-7521
DATE: 20160329
ONTARIO
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE
BETWEEN:
HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
– and –
MARCO MICHAEL MUZZO
Defendant
Paul Tait and Kellie Hutchinson, for the Crown
Brian H. Greenspan and Seth P. Weinstein, for the Defendant
HEARD: February 4, 23 and 24, 2016
REASONS FOR SENTENCE
FUERST J.
Introduction
[1] On a clear fall day, six members of a family drove through York Region. Loving grandparents and a great-grandmother were taking three small children home to their parents, after an overnight visit in King City. It was a perfectly ordinary weekend event, the kind regularly engaged in by families in communities big and small all across the province. But in this sad case, a perfectly ordinary event was rendered catastrophic because of Marco Muzzo’s decision to drink and then drive.
[2] More than thirty years ago, the Court of Appeal for Ontario declared that members of the public who travel the roadways of the province should not live in fear that they may meet with a driver whose faculties are impaired by alcohol.[^1] But, as this case so tragically illustrates, the message that every drinking driver is a potential killer of innocent members of the community continues to go unheeded.
[3] Marco Muzzo is before me for sentencing on four counts of impaired driving causing the deaths of Gary Neville, Daniel Neville-Lake, Harrison Neville-Lake, and Milagros Neville-Lake, and two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm to Josefina Frias and Neriza Neville.
[4] I appreciate that regardless of the length of the jail term that I impose today, the time will come when Mr. Muzzo will be released from custody. He will have the opportunity to return to his home, his work, and the company of those who love and support him. I am acutely aware that the Neville-Lake, Neville, and Frias families will be forever denied that opportunity. They will continue to serve the form of life sentence that Mr. Muzzo inflicted on them by his decision to drink and drive. The sad reality is that the sentence I impose today will not make whole the families who lost three children and their grandfather, nor will it return a grandmother and great-grandmother to good health. While the criminal justice system can deter and denounce, it is ill-suited to make reparation for harm of the magnitude involved in this case.
The Circumstances of the Offences
[5] Kirby Road and Kipling Avenue intersect in a less developed area of York Region. Kirby Road runs east to west with a single lane in each direction. The two lanes are divided by a solid yellow centre line. White fog lines mark the outer limits of each lane. The posted speed limit is 60 kilometres per hour.
[6] Kipling Avenue runs north to south with a single lane in each direction. The posted speed limit is 80 kilometres per hour.
[7] At the intersection of the two roads, there are stop signs for traffic travelling north and south on Kipling Avenue. There are no stop signs for traffic travelling on Kirby Road. Traffic on Kirby Road has the right of way.
[8] On September 27, 2015, the stop sign for northbound traffic on Kipling Avenue was visible and unobstructed. There were no weather or traffic conditions that would prevent a northbound vehicle from stopping safely at the intersection.
[9] At 3:15 p.m. that day, Mr. Muzzo arrived at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on a private jet. He was returning from his bachelor party in Miami. After clearing Customs, he walked to his Jeep Grand Cherokee and left the parking area at 3:27 p.m