'The Crash': Mackenzie Shirilla recalls deadly accident from prison in Netflix documentary: 'I'm not...'
Netflix's true-crime documentary 'The Crash' has renewed public interest in Mackenzie Shirilla's car accident, which claimed the lives of her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, on July 31, 2022. The then-17-year-old Mackenzie was driving at 100 mph when she smashed her 2018 Toyota Camry into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio. She miraculously survived the crash, but Dominic (20) and Davion (19) were killed on impact. In the documentary, the 21-year-old speaks about the tragic incident from prison for the first time since her 2023 conviction.
"I’m not a monster. I’m not saying I’m innocent. I was a driver of a tragedy, but I’m not a murderer," she is heard saying in the Netflix film. 'The Crash' sheds light on the tumultuous relationship between Mackenzie and Dominic, highlighting several instances of Mackenzie verbally abusing her boyfriend and threatening to crash his car. However, she said in the documentary that despite their rocky relationship, the two saw a future together. "We would have probably been married by now. We argued, we got back together, we broke up, we got back together. It was rocky, but it was good. We were in love."
During the trial, Shirilla’s attorney argued that she had a medical condition called POTS, which caused her to black out before the car crash. "If I move a certain way, it just comes out of nowhere. I could just be sitting like this, and it could hit me. I remember turning on the street and then I’m waking up in the hospital the next day, and my whole life is shattered," she said in the documentary. Mackenzie's mother, Natalie, explained the condition by saying, "POTS stands for Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. It’s a blood pressure disorder. You can either get dizzy, lightheadedness, you can black out." However, Judge Nancy Margaret Russo found Mackenzie guilty of murder, saying she deliberately "chose a course of death and destruction."
Mackenzie was convicted of 12 felony charges, including four counts of murder, and is currently serving two concurrent life sentences at a state women’s prison in Marysville. She will be eligible for parole in 2037 at the age of 33. Speaking of her condition behind bars, Mackenzie said, "It’s really hard every day in here. I try to wake up and be the best person I can be every day. Stay out of trouble." She added that the guilt of her actions weighs heavily on her. "There’s not a moment that doesn’t pass where I don’t think about them, or I don’t feel the pain in my chest. I have excessive amounts of remorse for Dominic, Davion, both of their families." She reiterated, "This was not intentional, and I will do everything I can to prove that to the world and the families."
Following the documentary's release, Dominic's sister, Christine, spoke publicly about the film's impact on her grieving family. "It’s bittersweet because the entire world knows who my brother is. Like billions of people know. And I think he deserves nothing less. He was loyal, caring, funny, and athletic. He was kind," Christine said of her brother. She also mentioned how the film has reopened painful wounds for the families of both victims. "It’s taken four years. We’ve remained silent for a really long time. It’s not that I want to talk badly about the Shirillas. And it’s not that I want to hate anybody or anything like that, but I’m going to defend my brother. And if they keep putting out misinformation, I’m going to shut it down. That’s what it’s all about. I’m also going to talk about grief and domestic violence awareness, especially in teens," Christine said.
The fallout from the documentary continues as Mackenzie's father, Steve Shirilla, was placed on administrative leave on May 19, following his comments in the Netflix documentary. He worked as an art and digital media teacher at Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland. Steve defended his daughter on several occasions, claiming she was innocent.
