Viewers of Mackenzie Shirilla Netflix doc urged to watch 'more in-depth' documentary with details that were left out
Netflix's The Crash has become the streamer's number one film since dropping last week.
The documentary revisits the case of Mackenzie Shirilla, the Ohio teenager convicted of intentionally driving her car into a brick wall at over 100mph in 2022, killing her boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan.
The Crash marks the first time Shirilla has spoken publicly since her conviction, with the 21-year-old maintaining her innocence and claiming she may have lost consciousness before the crash due to a medical condition. The film has sparked fierce debate online, with viewers split over her account of events, and many feeling that the Netflix version doesn't tell the whole story.
Those viewers are now being pointed towards two other true crime series that covered the case before Netflix arrived, and which many say go into considerably more detail on some of the case's most shocking details.
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Mean Girl Murders
The first is Mean Girl Murders, a series exploring real-life cases centred on the darker side of female relationships and rivalry. Season 2, Episode 7, titled Under The Influence, is dedicated to the Shirilla case. It includes details absent from the Netflix doc, among them the fact that Mackenzie visited the crash site in the days prior and that the route appeared obscure and seemingly deliberately chosen. The episode also reveals that after leaving hospital, Mackenzie attended a concert just a month after the crash. Viewers have called the series "insane" and "unreal."
You can stream the full series on HBO Max or via Discovery+, available through its own app, or as a Prime Video add-on.
Killer Cases
The second is Killer Cases, whose Season 4, Episode 12, Murder on Wheels, also focuses on Shirilla. It includes audio of Shirilla speaking to her mother in what prosecutors described as a form of Pig Latin during their prison calls, which they argued was an attempt to avoid detection. It also covers the moment hospital audio picked up Shirilla asking her mother: "Can we tell the police I had a seizure, can we tell the police something like that?"
Viewers can watch the episode on Hulu, Disney+ and Peacock.
What happened in the Mackenzie Shirilla case?
For those less familiar with the case, here's what happened.
Shirilla was just 17 years old when she crashed her car into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio, in July 2022. She survived the impact, but Russo and Flanagan were killed instantly. While police initially treated the crash as a tragic accident, they soon discovered it was premeditated.
Investigation of the car's black box revealed that Shirilla had her right foot pressed to the accelerator at full extent, and the brake pedal was never applied before impact. Psilocybin mushrooms and a digital scale were also found on Shirilla at the scene.
She was found guilty in a bench trial of four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault, two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide, one count of drug possession and one count of possessing criminal tools. The judge, who referred to her as "literal hell on wheels," sentenced her to two concurrent terms of 15 years to life.
Now 21, Shirilla is imprisoned at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville. She has appealed her conviction three times, most recently in March 2026, but each attempt has been denied. She will not be eligible for parole until October 2037. In The Crash, she breaks her silence for the first time, maintaining her innocence and claiming she may have lost consciousness before the crash due to a medical condition.
The Crash is streaming on Netflix now.
Mackenzie Shirilla's representatives have been approached for comment
Mackenzie Shirilla timeline
July 17 2022
Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend Dominic Russo get into an argument. A friend overhears Shirilla tell him: “I will crash this car right now.”
July 31 2022
Shirilla is driving Russo, 20, and their friend Davion Flanagan, 19, from Russo’s home to a friend’s house. At around 5.30am, she crashes the car into a Plidco Building in Strongsville, Ohio, travelling at 100mph without braking. Police arrive on the scene 45 minutes later. Russo and Flanagan are pronounced dead and Shirilla is transported to MetroHealth Medical Center.
August 2022
200 people attend a vigil for Russo and Flanagan. Shirilla remains in critical condition. When a detective visits her in hospital, she is said to be speaking a ‘unique language’ similar to pig Latin.
October 2022
Shirilla attends a Halloween party wearing fancy dress which resembles a corpse, which Davion’s father considers in very poor taste. He says in Netflix’s The Crash: “Dressing up as corpses three months after she killed two people, it just sickened us to the very core.”
November 4 2022
Shirilla is arrested and faces 18 charges, including two counts of aggravated murder. She also faces charges for allegedly breaking into the Columbia Church of God in Columbia Station days before the crash, along with drug trafficking and possession charges.
August 7 2023
Shirilla’s trial begins. Her defence team argue she may have passed out at the time of the crash due to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), but no medical records or expert testimony confirms the diagnosis.
August 14 2023
Shirilla is found guilty on all counts. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo calls her ‘hell on wheels’, and the court concludes she intetionally crashed the car in a premeditated act.
August 23 2023
Shirilla is sentenced to two concurrent 15 years to life sentences. Her legal team later lose an appeal and relief petition. She remains incarcerated in Ohio Refamatory for Women.
May 22 2025
Mackenzie’s parents insist that she’s innocent. Her father Steve tells WKYC: “Show me one piece of evidence - one - that says she did this on purpose. Show it to me, then she's right where she belongs and she's guilty of it. But there isn't any.” Her mother Natalie claims there are texts in which Shirilla says Russo was ‘trying to end her life’.
May 15 2026
Netflix’s The Crash premieres. In it, Shirilla insists she is ‘not a murderer’ and has no memory of the crash, continuing to blame POTS.
May 18 2026
Steve Shirilla is placed on administrative leave from his job as an art and digital media teacher at Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland following allegations he had ‘demonstrated poor judgement’. Viewers of Netflix’s documentary objected to his attitude towards Shirilla’s marijuana use and his dismissal of claims she told a classmate to end their life.
September 2037
This is when Shirilla will be eligible for parole
Thomas Bamford