A memorial was unveiled in King City today in honour of three children and their grandfather who were killed in a tragic crash in Kleinburg last year.
Nine-year-old Daniel Neville-Lake, his five-year-old brother Harrison, their two-year-old sister Milly and their grandfather Gary Neville were killed when their minivan was struck by an impaired driver at Kirby Road and Kipling Avenue on Sept. 27.
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.
Organizers of today’s ceremony, which was held at Wellesley Park in King City, say the memorial was set up so that the children's parents, Jennifer and Ed Neville-Lake, would have a “permanent place to honour their children and father.”
The parents were not in attendance at Sunday’s ceremony but did issue a written statement that was read aloud by an event organizer.
“From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you for the love and support you have shown us and our family," the statement released by the Neville-Lake family reads.
The grieving parents described the memorial, which is placed at Kettle Lake Park, as "achingly beautiful."
"The memorial trees and bench that the Entertain Kids on a Dime group fund-raised for us are so achingly beautiful and it means so much to us that they were placed in a playground that our children were so anxious to see and play on," the statement continued.
"We truly wish that we were all together for any other reason and our children could be playing with yours here today."
