🚨 NETFLIX’S THE CRASH REVEALS THE TRUE STORY BEHIND A DEADLY NIGHT THAT SHOCKED AMERICA. K2

On the morning of July 31, 2022, the community of Strongsville, Ohio, woke up to horrifying news: A car traveling 100 miles per hour had crashed into the side of a brick building, killing the two young passengers riding inside. The driver, 17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla, was taking her boyfriend, Dom, and their friend, Davion, home from a high school graduation gathering when the crash occurred. As detectives combed through the wreckage, what first appeared to be a tragic accident began to look like the scene of a calculated crime.

“Whilst elements of this story had been told before in various bits of media, quite a lot of these people’s voices hadn’t been [heard], and they felt like they still needed to say something,” Scott says.

“It was our job, in making this film, to present everybody’s viewpoint as fairly and accurately as we could,” Johnson says. “We’ve given the audience everything they need to come to their own conclusions about what happened.”

Here’s everything to know about The Crash. 

What is The Crash about?

The Crash traces the investigation following the 2022 collision that killed Dominic “Dom” Russo and Davion Flanagan and left the driver, Mackenzie Shirilla, as the sole survivor. Through bodycam and surveillance video, cell phone recordings, courtroom footage, and interviews with the families of all three people involved, the film reconstructs the events of that night. It follows the months-long investigation that transformed a presumed accident into a double-murder case.

Who is Mackenzie Shirilla?

Mackenzie Shirilla was 17 years old at the time of the crash and had been in a relationship with Dominic “Dom” Russo, 20, for roughly four years. The two had recently moved in together after Mackenzie graduated from Strongsville High School. In the early morning of July 31, Mackenzie was driving Dom and their friend Davion Flanagan home from a graduation get-together when her car struck the side of a building at high speed. When police and emergency responders arrived, Dom and Davion were dead. Mackenzie, despite sustaining serious injuries and being airlifted to a hospital, survived.

Who were Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan?

Dom was 20 at the time of the crash and, according to family and friends interviewed in the documentary, a young man with an entrepreneurial spirit. Dom found success selling stocks and cryptocurrency and hoped to launch a clothing line and other business ventures. He’d been living with Mackenzie, who moved in after her graduation just weeks before the crash. The two were inseparable, though the documentary shows their relationship was volatile — it could swing between affection and conflict. Dom’s father, Frank Russo, and his older sister, Christine Russo, both appear in the film. The documentary reveals that early in the morning of the crash, Dom texted his father a simple message: “Love you dad.”

Davion, 19 at the time of the crash, was a passionate athlete whose college football aspirations were derailed by injury four games into his senior season. In the documentary, his father, Scott Flanagan, describes how that setback sent Davion down a different path and into a new circle of friends. Davion’s presence in the car that night was a last-minute decision: He had originally planned to go home with his friend Bubba but changed his mind. Bubba recalls that before they parted ways, Davion gave him a hug and told him, “I love you.” After their son’s death, the family established the Davion Flanagan Memorial Scholarship Fund. “People are going to know his name and people are going to know his heart,” Scott says in the doc.

What happened the night of the crash?

In the immediate aftermath of the crash, investigators considered numerous possible explanations, including operator or mechanical error, substance abuse, or a serious felony. Despite first responders discovering marijuana and psilocybin mushrooms concealed in Mackenzie’s belongings at the scene, the impaired-driving theory weakened when her blood toxicology came back negative for psilocybin or alcohol and positive only for THC. A forensic auto investigator then determined the car had no mechanical malfunctions — the steering, brakes, accelerator, and tires were all functioning properly — eliminating vehicle failure as well. A turning point came when Strongsville police uncovered surveillance footage of the car’s final moments and called Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor Tim Troup. The footage showed the car making a controlled, deliberate turn before traveling almost half a mile at nearly 100 miles per hour. The car’s event data recorder revealed that the accelerator had been pressed to 100% for the full five seconds of pre-crash data, with no attempt to brake.

In September 2022, Dom’s brother, Angelo Russo, came forward to tell detectives that Dom had tried to break up with Mackenzie multiple times that July. Someone else reported that Mackenzie had threatened to crash a car with Dom inside just two weeks before the fatal collision — which Troup calls “prior calculation” in the documentary. On Nov. 4, 2022, more than three months after the crash, Mackenzie was arrested on two counts of aggravated murder.

“There are those five seconds when no one knows what went on in that car. There are people who completely believe in her innocence, and people who completely believe that she’s guilty. It was much more interesting to us to work out how those people arrived at those conclusions and ultimately leave it up to the viewer to make up their own minds,” Scott says.

Was Mackenzie Shirilla found guilty?

Yes. Though Mackenzie was 17 at the time of the crash, she was tried as an adult. She opted for a bench trial, meaning the judge — not a jury — determined the verdict. The trial began in August 2023. As seen in the documentary, her defense focused on her 2017 diagnosis of POTS (postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). “With POTS you just black out, it can happen very fast… it comes out of nowhere,” Mackenzie says in the doc. The prosecution argued that the controlled turns the car made — and sustained acceleration to nearly 100 miles per hour — required intense engagement. This would have been impossible during a medical event. Dom’s mother, Christine Russo, testified about recordings made by Dom just days before the crash. They showed Mackenzie growing increasingly combative and threatening to end the relationship.

“There are a lot of voices in the film that maybe only saw the good in the relationship between Mackenzie and Dom,” Johnson says. “There ended up being such powerful evidence that was presented in court that was recorded on a mobile phone. I think that evidence obviously had a big impact on the families of Dominic and Davion, as they expressed in the courtroom.”

“You never know fully what goes on behind closed doors,” Scott says. “For us, that’s why it was so important to include things such as their text messages — because it was the closest insight we could get to understanding the exact nature of their relationship.”

Ultimately, Judge Nancy Russo (no relation to Dominic) found Mackenzie guilty on both counts, stating she “chose a course of death and destruction that day.”

Did Mackenzie Shirilla go to prison?

Yes. Judge Russo imposed two concurrent sentences of 15 years to life on Mackenzie. Though she could have opted for a harsher 30-year sentence, Russo said in her sentencing remarks she believed there was “a very good likelihood” Mackenzie would spend the rest of her life in prison.

Where’s Mackenzie Shirilla now?

Mackenzie remains incarcerated. Her first appeal has been denied, and her first parole hearing is scheduled for September 2037.

Read more from the filmmakers of The Crash about what it was like to interview Mackenzie in prison here.

Who’s interviewed in the doc?

It features interviews with the families of all three people involved in the crash: Mackenzie’s parents, Natalie and Steve Shirilla; Dom’s father, Frank, and sister, Christine; plus, Davion’s father, Scott, and sister Davyne. Friends who were with the group the night of the crash — Rosie Graham and her boyfriend, Bubba — recount the hours leading up to it, while Mackenzie’s childhood friend Faythe Walsh speaks about Mackenzie’s character. Prosecutor Troup walks viewers through how the investigation and case against Mackenzie were built, and defense attorney James McDonnell offers the perspective of Mackenzie’s legal team. Notably, the film also includes the first-ever interview with Mackenzie herself, conducted in prison with her lawyer present.

Where can I watch the trailer?

Take a look at the chilling events of The Crash in the trailer at the top of the page.

What’s the release date for The Crash?

The documentary premiered on Netflix on May 15. Stream it now.

The Crash is directed by Gareth Johnson and produced by RAW. It’s executive produced by Rebecca North and Jonny Taylor; Angharad Scott is a producer.

What’s this doc like?

The Crash is a riveting, provocative true-crime documentary that reconstructs the events before and after a fatal collision. It pairs firsthand accounts with case evidence to examine how what seemed to be a tragic accident became a murder case — and why not everyone agrees with that conclusion.

• Watch out for sensitive topics including teen death, underage drug use, and disturbing bodycam footage from investigators responding to the crash scene.
• Could be described as the tense teenage relationship dynamics of Unknown Number: The High School Catfish meet the fatal consequences and lingering questions of guilt in A Deadly American Marriage.