York Regional Police say one year after a drunk driver killed three young children and their grandfather in Vaughan, there is no sign that impaired driving is on the decline.
According to statistics released by the police service Tuesday, since Sept. 27, 2015, 1,100 impaired-driving related charges have been laid, a number similar to the previous year.
“Despite all of our efforts, sadly we continue to deal with people that are making the choice to drink alcohol or use drugs and drive and let me be clear, it is a choice,” York Regional Police Chief Eric Jolliffe said in a news release issued Tuesday.
“The consequences of making these bad decisions have never been more apparent. The grief and sorrow that continues to be felt extends far beyond the immediate family, first responders and our investigators. It has touched our entire community.”
Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of an impaired driving collision that claimed the lives of nine-year-old Daniel Neville-Lake, his five-year-old brother Harrison, their two-year-old sister Milly and their grandfather Gary Neville. The four were killed when their minivan was struck by a drunk driver at Kirby Road and Kipling Avenue on Sept. 27, 2015.
The driver of the vehicle that struck the family, Marco Muzzo, subsequently pleaded guilty to four counts of impaired driving causing death and two counts of impaired driving causing bodily harm in connection with the crash. He has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
In Jolliffe's statement, the police chief urged members of the public to think twice before getting behind the wheel while impaired.
“I am also calling upon friends and family members who watch their loved ones have a drink or use drugs to be that person and stand up to prevent them from driving,” he added.
“Impaired driving is completely preventable and we must all do our part to prevent another tragedy on our roads.”
In a Facebook post Monday, Jennifer Neville-Lake, the mother of the three children killed in last year’s crash, echoed Jolliffe’s comments and called on members of the public not to drink and drive.
“I can't stop anyone from driving impaired. Our story is one fading afternoon and is darkening with time. I can share with you how hollow and desolate my life is because someone chose to drink and drive on a Sunday afternoon,” she wrote.
“I can probably make you cry imagining what it is like to be me existing in an empty and dead house. But I can't stop you from drinking and driving. My shattered heart can't. My dead dad can't. My dead children can't. Only you can. I hope you choose life.”
