The Crash: Documentary Review

This one’s a tough watch. Recently released on Netflix, The Crash is a documentary that follows the real case of the murder of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan, which took place in July 2022. The tragedy happened in Ohio, when 17-year old Mackenzie Shirilla crashed her car into a brick wall, killing her boyfriend and one of their friends.

Over the last four years, this case has become infamous amongst true crime enthusiasts, as well as many Americans, particularly those living near where the tragedy occurred, for a variety of reasons. Firstly, two very young people lost their lives in a truly horrible way, leaving behind heartbroken families. Secondly, people's opinions on what actually happened have been divided: was it all just an accident, or was it cold-blooded, premeditated murder?

The Crash takes a deep dive into exploring that.

For anyone who doesn't know the details of the case: Mackenzie Shirilla did end up being found guilty in 2023 during a bench trial, convicted of twelve felony charges, and sentenced to two concurrent life sentences, with the possibility of parole after fifteen years. Although only seventeen years old at the time the crash happened, Mackenzie was tried as an adult. She is currently serving time in the Ohio Reformatory for Women and will be eligible for parole in 2037.

Her family, as well as many others, still claim her innocence.

At the time it all happened, Mackenzie lived with her boyfriend, Dominic, who was three years older than her. On the surface, the two of them had a picture-perfect relationship: they spent all their time together, they were visibly enamoured with each other, and Dominic adored Mackenzie, choosing to spend a lot of his money on buying her expensive gifts. Her parents and their friends still seem convinced that the two of them would have ended up getting married, had the tragedy not occured.

Watching the documentary, however, shows us that their relationship wasn't as perfect as it appeared. The two fought a lot and had the habit of being on and off in their relationship, Mackenzie often impulsively breaking up with Dominic. It's also mentioned that Dominic cheated on her early into their relationship.

Mackenzie herself was a bit of a mess, for a lack of a better word. It's clear from the interviews with her parents that they instilled no discipline into her, even from a young age, instead choosing to allow her to do drugs and misbehave at school, without facing any consequences.

On July 31st 2022, Mackenzie, Dominic and Davion were all at a friend's house. In the early mornings, Mackenzie and Dominic decided to leave and go home, and Davion asked to ride with them. What followed was a tragedy. CCTV footage shows their car slowly taking a turn onto a street called Progress Drive. A moment later, a different CCTV camera captured the car speeding down the road, before crashing into the brick wall of a building at the end of it. The passenger side of the car collided with a corner of the structure. At the time of the crash, the car was travelling at over 100 miles per hour (160km/h).

Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan were both pronounced dead at the scene. Mackenzie Shirilla was gravely injured and taken to the hospital.

To this day, Mackenzie claims she doesn't remember what happened that morning. From the moment the car took the turn onto Progress Drive, up until waking up in the hospital, her memory is gone. In this documentary, she actually sat down with the Netflix crew and told her part of the story, claiming she suffered a medical incident which made her crash and forget everything.

The law, however, found her guilty of murder. It's only been a few years since she was sent to prison, but in this time, Mackenzie's case has gathered worldwide fame, especially online. Whilst most people seem to think she was in fact guilty and had planned this crash with the intention to kill Dominic (and Davion was just an unlucky casualty), there are still people defending her and fighting to prove her innocence.

If you've watched the documentary, or are familiar with the case, what are your thoughts? Do you think Mackenzie really planned it all, or do you think she's telling the truth?