A new Netflix documentary features the first on-camera interview with the Ohio woman found guilty of murdering her boyfriend and a friend in a 100 mph car wreck. She tells filmmakers she is ‘not a murderer’ but cannot explain the crash.
The documentary The Crash arrived on Netflix on May 15, 2026, revisiting a case that left many people with more questions than answers. On July 31, 2022, then-17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla drove her Toyota Camry into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio, at approximately 100 miles per hour. The crash killed her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, 19. Shirilla survived.
For years, Shirilla has remained silent. She never spoke to police after the crash and did not testify during her 2023 trial. The Crash marks the first time she has broken that silence, giving an hour-long interview from prison where she maintains she has no memory of the event.
‘I’m Not a Murderer’: Shirilla Maintains Her Innocence in Prison Interview
During the documentary, Shirilla, now 21, speaks directly to the camera while her attorney sits nearby. She does not claim to be completely blameless but draws a hard line between being involved in a tragedy and being a criminal.
“I’m not saying I’m innocent. I was a driver of a tragedy, but I’m not a murderer,” Shirilla says in the film.
When asked what she believes caused the crash, Shirilla points to a medical condition. She says she has Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a condition that can cause a person to faint or black out suddenly. Her legal team raised this same defense during the 2023 bench trial.
“With POTS you just blackout, it can happen very fast,” Shirilla says. “The most logical speculation seems to be a medical emergency.”
But she cannot explain how she kept control of the vehicle if she was unconscious. When pressed, she responds, “I’m unsure, because I have no recollection of that morning, but I know nothing about it was intentional, because that’s not in my character.”
Judge Called Her ‘Literal Hell on Wheels’ — Here Is the Evidence Against Her
The documentary does not just present Shirilla’s version of events. It also lays out the evidence that convinced a judge to convict her of two counts of murder.
Judge Nancy Margaret Russo (no relation to the victim) found Shirilla guilty after watching video footage of the crash and reviewing data from the car’s event data recorder—similar to an airplane’s black box. The data showed that for approximately five seconds before the impact, the gas pedal was pushed completely to the floor. Nobody applied the brakes.
“She morphs from a responsible driver to literal hell on wheels as she makes her way down the street,” Judge Russo said during the sentencing. “She had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The mission was death.”
Investigators also found that Shirilla had marijuana and Psilocybin mushrooms in her possession at the crash scene. A toxicology report later showed THC in her system, but no alcohol or mushrooms.
Prosecutor Tim Troup argues in the documentary that the car’s steering data tells a dark story. About three seconds before impact, the steering wheel moved right, then left, then sharply right again. The car also shifted from drive into neutral and back into drive. Troup believes Russo and Flanagan were trying to stop the car or save themselves in their final moments.
Social Media Plays a Big Role — And Raises Difficult Questions
A significant portion of The Crash focuses on Shirilla’s social media presence. Before the crash, she posted regularly on TikTok, sharing makeup videos and modeling content. After the crash, while awaiting arrest, she continued posting as if nothing had happened.
Scott Flanagan, Davion’s father, expresses his anger in the documentary.
“Dressing up as corpses three months after she killed two people, it just sickened us to the very core,” Flanagan says, referring to a Halloween video Shirilla posted. “We’re not seeing her post videos of her mourning or videos of her regret. We were seeing posts of her living her best life.”
The documentary also reveals that Shirilla and her mother continued trying to secure brand sponsorship deals just days after the crash. One message showed her mother writing to a fashion brand, “Thank you for this opportunity. She’s been trying to contact you guys.”
Shirilla defends her online behavior in the film.
“I feel like anybody’s social media isn’t really them. It’s how they want the world to see them. And at the time that’s how my 17-year-old brain was wanting to be seen.”
Also Read:
Where Is Mackenzie Shirilla Now?
Shirilla is currently serving her sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, located about 130 miles from Strongsville. She received two concurrent sentences of 15 years to life—one for each victim. She will first become eligible for parole in September 2037.
Her legal team attempted to appeal the conviction, but in March 2026, Ohio’s Court of Appeals denied the petition because her lawyers filed the paperwork one day past the deadline. Her family continues to fight the conviction, though no major legal developments have occurred since filming wrapped.
The Crash is now streaming on Netflix.
Also Read: Dutton Ranch Premiere Recap: Fire, a Hidden Body, and Beth’s New Texas War
Discover more true crime stories and documentary reviews on VvipTimes.
