I’m always up for a Netflix documentary, but they debuted one two weeks ago that I was wholly unprepared for. The Crash follows a fatal car accident that happened in Ohio in July 2022, when then-17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla drove into a brick wall, killing her boyfriend Dominic Russo (20) and their friend Davion Flanagan (19). Dominic and Davion probably spent their last moments in terror: unbuckling their seat belts and trying to wrest control of the steering wheel and gear shift from Mackenzie as she hit 99 mph. The car’s “black box” later revealed that no system in the vehicle malfunctioned, and in the five seconds leading up to the crash, Mackenzie was at 100% acceleration with no activity on the brakes. At all.
Furthermore, while Mackenzie suffered severe injuries she had to recover from, a blood test proved that she was not intoxicated. (She tested positive for THC, but as her social media would show, Mackenzie was very, very well practiced at driving while smoking weed.) So with all that evidence, police and prosecutors arrested Mackenzie on 12 charges, including murder, felonious assault, and aggravated vehicular homicide, among others. Mackenzie was convicted in August 2023 and is currently serving two concurrent terms of 15 years to life. People Mag has had a slew of stories this week about the case, including yet more damning info that wasn’t included in the documentary:
Mackenzie used pig latin in front of the police to ask her mom to tell them she had a seizure during the crash: One piece of evidence that The Crash didn’t include was an audio recording between Mackenzie and her mother, Natalie Shirilla, taken by police when Mackenzie was being interviewed in the hospital. In the recording, Mackenzie and her mom speak a “unique language” that appeared to be a version of pig latin, according to Assistant Prosecutor Tim Troup. When Detective Zaki Hazou tells Mackenzie and her mother that they are investigating her for aggravated vehicular homicide, Mackenzie turns to her mom and speaks to her in the gibberish language. Police later said they determined what the phrases translated to. “Can we tell the police I had a seizure, can we tell the police something like that?” Mackenzie allegedly asked her mom. She then asked Hazou, “Can’t you just take my license away for like, 10 years?”
Was her POTS claim NUTS? The audio recording ultimately played a role in Mackenzie’s conviction, as her defense lawyers argued that she suffered a medical event at the time of the crash. They alleged that she passed out due to the chronic medical condition postural othrostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), though she didn’t have proof of a diagnosis. First responder Brett Stanislaw testified in court that Mackenzie’s “pulse, motor and sensation in her four extremities” were normal, “which he said ruled out a stroke, seizure or other significant neurological emergency,” according to court documents. Stanislaw later acknowledged that she could have suffered a seizure before he arrived, as his findings were limited to the time he had with her after the crash. Mackenzie continues to claim that she does not remember the crash.
Former friends believed Mackenzie was guilty: “Mackenzie gets what she wants, Mackenzie is never punished and now Mackenzie is punished, and there’s nothing Mackenzie or her family can do.” Meanwhile, her former friend Jaina Maynard claimed that Mackenzie was “terrible to people,” but she could have “been a lot more if she just chose a different route and got the help she needed.”
Speaking pig latin in front of the cops??? That’s just… I mean… WOW. Or should I say, “upidstay.” And the whole seizure/POTS argument only backed Mackenzie and her mother into a corner, anyway, which the prosecutor easily unraveled in court. He basically said, “If the POTS was a strong enough condition that Mackenzie could suffer a seizure quickly and without warning, then how did she get a driver’s license in the first place?” And Dominic’s sister further pointed out that wouldn’t her foot have let up on the gas pedal during a seizure? Also, this comment was spot on: “Mackenzie is never punished and now Mackenzie is punished, and there’s nothing Mackenzie or her family can do.” The Shirillas are interviewed in the doc, and I came away strongly feeling that they bore some responsibility, too. It was so apparent that they did not parent her. Mackenzie did have several friends speak positively of her in the film as well. The nicest way I can put this is, I truly think those friends have no idea how they sound. In negating the idea that Mackenzie was suicidal, one friend said: “She refused to eat a McChicken with me. I just don’t think someone who took such good care of themselves would be suicidal.” I’m paraphrasing — except for the McChicken.
The Crash is an infuriating watch. I recommend it, if you can stand it, but totally understand if it’s too awful to stomach.
Photos credit: Netflix