A car broken and compressed after being driven straight into a brick building, a slipper slammed tightly under the acceleration pedal, and 8 grams of psilocybin, along with a small amount of marijuana. This was what the first responders saw on the morning of July 31, 2022.
On May 15, a Netflix documentary called The Crash was released, following the events that took place on July 31, 2022. That morning, Mackenzie Shirilla, along with her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, and friend, Davion Flanagan, drove her 2018 Toyota Camry head-first into a brick building at almost 100 miles per hour. At first, this was observed as accidental, but was later revealed as intentional.
Mackenzie Shirilla was born on August 2, 2004. She was raised in Strongsville, Ohio, where she attended school and met Russo. The two quickly became close and got together not long after they met, despite Russo being three years older. After Shirilla’s graduation in 2022, she and Russo decided to move in together. Shortly after this, on the night of July 30, Shirilla and Russo attended a grad party. Around 11:00 that night, they and a few other friends went to another friend’s house and spent the rest of the night smoking weed and watching television. Early the next morning, Shirilla, accompanied by Flanagan and Russo, left the house. Little did they know that entering a car with Mackenzie Shirilla would cost their lives.
Throughout The Crash, it is mentioned many times that Shirilla and Russo had a bumpy relationship, although no one expected it to crash and burn the way it did. On countless occasions, Shirilla and Russo would argue, then only a few hours later, they’d be fine. Shirilla seems to be an extremely emotional person. This is seen first through her texts with Russo, containing messages that read, “I’m gonna kill someone,” or “THIS IS WHY I J WANNA F***ING KMS.” Her extreme behavior is also seen throughout the documentary, even mentioning times when Shirilla would threaten Russo or his home.
However, even though Shirilla could easily be labeled as overly aggressive, more information would be needed to put her away for good. At that point, authorities began to further examine the details of the crash. Was it an accident? Was Shirilla high and lost focus? Was there a medical emergency? Did Shirilla crash her car on purpose? There were so many questions, yet so few answers. Focusing first on the drugs, it is found that Shirilla had no psilocybin in her system, meaning that if drugs were to blame, it was only due to marijuana. However, this thought is vetoed after the realization that Shirilla often drove while high, and driving into a building due to marijuana, as someone who was used to it, was highly unlikely. Thanks to video footage linked to neighboring buildings, the authorities were able to take a closer look at what happened that morning. At first, Shirilla was driving safely, being mindful and slow while making turns, driving in her own lane. Then, out of nowhere, she sped up, reaching a maximum speed of nearly 100 miles per hour. Shirilla’s mother blamed this on a medical condition called POTS, claiming that she had passed out while driving. However, if she really had passed out, wouldn’t her foot ease off the accelerator?
On November 4, 2022, MacKenzie Shirilla was arrested and was soon after taken to court. During the trial, prosecutors showed vehicle data, proving that Shirilla had her foot 100% on the accelerator with no shown intentions to stop the car. The defense argued that Shirilla had no recollection of the crash, saying that the whole thing was accidental. However, this was proved to be false once the prosecutors revealed that no medical issues had taken place that morning. The judge then found Shirilla guilty on 12 counts, ruling her actions deliberate.
MacKenzie Shirilla is now incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women. She will remain in prison and is eligible for parole in 2037. Overall, The Crash follows the events that took place on July 31, 2022, showing the world who MacKenzie Shirilla really is.
