Husband speaks out 10 years after Richmond Hill woman killed by drunk driver while jogging

Gareth Callaway gets choked up talking about his late wife Terri, who was killed 10 years ago just blocks from the family’s Richmond Hill home.

“I’m very grateful for the time that I had with Terri. I can’t change that,” he said while remembering his wife of 11 years and the mother to his four children.

Callaway said he has had to look forward and live in the moment for the sake of the children, who were nine, seven, six and three years old at the time of Terri’s death.

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“I’m very keen to be grateful for what I’ve got and not to regret what I never had,” he said.

Terri Callaway was 37 years old when she was killed on Nov. 29, 2006.

When she failed to return home from her jog, Gareth set out to look for her along her regular running route. He said he remembers coming upon police and asking questions of an officer, knowing Terri didn’t have identification on her.

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It soon became clear – Terri had been involved in a crash. A car mounted the curb along North Lake Road where she was running. It struck and killed her.

Thirty-three-year-old Matthew Junkert was charged with impaired driving causing death and eventually sentenced to five years in jail for the crime. He was released after serving just three years. His ten-year driving suspension began upon his release.

“The sentencing is an absolute joke – there is no deterrent in there,” Callaway said, referring to the justice system.

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“I think the cops … will universally say – well, they won’t say because they’re not allowed to say – that they do their job. They walk it to the door and then the justice system lets them down, lets the victims down and ultimately because of that, lets down society.”

Callaway said he was encouraged to see that Marco Muzzo was handed a ten-year sentence after pleading guilty to killing Daniel, Harry and Millie Neville-Lake, along with their grandfather Gary Neville in September 2015.

He said he believes credit for pre-custody time served and granting parole should be banned.

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“If they sentence them to ten years, it’s ten years. It’s not the illusion of ten years,” Callaway said.

He said he is not encouraged that attitudes towards drinking and driving and using drugs while driving will improve, adding he believes statistics in Ontario support that fact.

“I’ll see you on the 25^th anniversary and nothing will have changed,” Callaway said.