Dad Whose 3 Children Were Killed by a Drunk Driver Dies the Day After Father's Day

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The heart-wrenching story of a family whose three small children were killed by a drunk driver in 2015 took an even more tragic turn on Monday when their father died.

Edward Lake was found dead by Peel Regional Police in Brampton, a city in Ontario, Canada, according to the Toronto Sun.

Police declined to confirm Edward's cause of death to PEOPLE, citing privacy issues.

Confirming her husband's death, Jennifer Neville-Lake posted a poignant message on Twitter — along with a photo of the couple's three children, Daniel, Harry, and Milly, who were 9, 5, and 2 when they were killed in 2015 — about her husband's death hours after the discovery of his body.

"The eyes he shared with Harry are forever closed. Daniel's curls will never shine in the sunlight again," she wrote. "I will never see Milly's shy smile creep across his lips anymore. My children's father, Edward Lake, has joined our kids so they can play together, forever."

On Sunday, Jennifer posted a photo of their children's gravesite, covered with flowers, on social media with the message: "Father's Day 2022. This shouldn't be real. It can't be," she wrote.

York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween, whose department investigated the crash which occurred in Vaughan, Ontario, also confirmed Edward's death.

"This evening I was very saddened to learn of the tragic death of Ed Lake. The losses to the Neville-Lake family are heart-wrenching," he wrote on Twitter. "YRP stands with our friend Jennifer and members of both families. May you find strength in the support of your community."

The family's tragedy gripped the Brampton and York communities since 2015 after the fatal crash not only claimed the lives of the three young children, but also resulted in the death of Jennifer's 65-year-old father, Gary Neville, 65, and left her mother with serious injuries.

Marco Muzzo — the driver of the car who slammed into the side of the family's vehicle on his way home from a bachelor party — was ordered to spend nine years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of impaired driving. However, Munzo was released in February 2021 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.

"I feel lost," Edward told reporters outside the courthouse after the 2016 trial, according to the CBC at the time. "I feel destroyed. That's what I feel."

Following the death of her children, Jennifer launched the art and music therapy nonprofit Many Hands, Doing Good to help young people grappling with trauma and hardship in 2018.

If you or someone you know needs mental health help, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.