{"id":210808,"date":"2026-05-16T04:01:54","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:01:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/what-to-know-about-mackenzie-shirilla-the-ohio-teen-who-killed-her-boyfriend-and-his-friend-in-100-mph-crash-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-05-16T04:01:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T04:01:54","slug":"what-to-know-about-mackenzie-shirilla-the-ohio-teen-who-killed-her-boyfriend-and-his-friend-in-100-mph-crash-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/what-to-know-about-mackenzie-shirilla-the-ohio-teen-who-killed-her-boyfriend-and-his-friend-in-100-mph-crash-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"What to know about Mackenzie Shirilla, the Ohio teen who killed her boyfriend and his friend in 100 mph crash – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Mackenzie Shirilla was dubbed \u201cHell on Wheels\u201d for a devastating 2022 Ohio crash<\/a> in which she drove into a brick building at 100 mph, killing her boyfriend and his friend.
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Now she\u2019s back in the limelight with the new Netflix documentary \u201cThe Crash<\/a>,\u201d which premieres Friday and delves into what led to the deadly incident.
Shirilla was 17 at the time of the July 31, 2022, crash in Strongsville, a Cleveland suburb, that killed her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and Davion Flanagan, 19.
Prosecutors said the crash was intentional, as she never hit the brakes, and described her relationship with Russo as toxic. But her family maintains her innocence as her lawyers have tried to appeal the case, unsuccessfully, in court.
The crash happened around 5:30 a.m., as Shirilla was driving them to Russo\u2019s home from a friend\u2019s house, according to police and evidence in court.
Shirilla accelerated her Toyota Camry into the large, brick Plidco Building in Strongsville, police <\/a>and prosecutors said.
When police arrived 45 minutes later, officers found the car \u201cwith severe damage and full airbag deployments.\u201d
All three people were found trapped in the car unconscious and not breathing, police said at the time. Russo and Flanagan were pronounced dead at the scene.
Photos from the scene depict the utterly destroyed car, its entire front ripped into pieces, the front windshield shattered and the side and the roof mangled.
An investigation of the car\u2019s event data recorder found that Shirilla\u2019s right foot was pressed to the accelerator\u2019s full extent and that the brakes were never applied before impact, the Cuyahoga County Prosecuting Attorney\u2019s Office said.
During the trial, prosecutors argued that the couple had fought often, and family members previously described the pair\u2019s toxic relationship<\/a>.
Prosecutors said Shirilla had made increasingly violent and threatening comments leading up to the crash.
Two weeks before the incident, Shirilla had threatened to crash while she was driving with Russo as a passenger, apparently upset over a disagreement they had, according to a prosecutor\u2019s filing.
Russo called his mother and asked to be picked up during the fight, and a friend went to get him. The friend was on the phone with Russo when he heard Shirilla say, \u201cI will crash this car right now,\u201d according to the filing.
Shirilla\u2019s parents, Natalie and Steve Shirilla, told NBC News on Thursday they dispute that evidence and believe it was false.
Mackenzie Shirilla is alleged on another occasion to have threatened to key Russo\u2019s car and to break the handle off a door after he refused to let her into his home, according to court filings.
Shirilla was arrested in connection with the crash about three months later, on Nov. 4, 2022.
On Aug. 14, 2023, Shirilla, then 19, was found guilty in a bench trial <\/a>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 defense claimed that they mutually fought each other and that it couldn\u2019t be determined whether Shirilla crashed intentionally.
Key to the case was security video of the crash that was played in court, which showed the car speed toward the building and ended with a roaring impact.
\u201cThis was not reckless driving. This was murder,\u201d Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo said at the verdict reading, as Shirilla broke down in tears.
Russo said Shirilla morphed from \u201ca responsible driver to literal hell on wheels as she makes her way down the street.\u201d
The judge said Shirilla made a calculated decision to take that obscure route out of her routine, at a time when not many people would be around.
Russo said: \u201cShe had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The mission was death.\u201d
One week later, on Aug. 21, 2023, Shirilla was sentenced to life in prison, with first eligibility for parole after 15 years<\/a>.
She spoke in court before her sentencing, apologizing and calling Russo her \u201csoul mate.\u201d
\u201cThe families of Dominic and Davion, I\u2019m so deeply sorry. I hope one day you can see I would never let this happen or do it on purpose. I wish I could remember what happened,\u201d she said, crying.
Shirilla is 22 and is housed at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, about 27 miles northwest of Columbus.
She won\u2019t be eligible for parole until Oct. 29, 2037.
Shirilla\u2019s legal camp filed an appeal in September 2023, but the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals upheld her conviction.
In October 2024, her attorneys filed a post-conviction relief petition, which was also denied<\/a> on the basis that it was filed after the statutory deadline.
In March, the Eighth District Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling <\/a>denying the 2024 petition. In May 2025, the Supreme Court of Ohio declined to review the appeal<\/a>.
Shirilla\u2019s legal team has continued to pursue efforts related to her appeal.
NBC News has reached out to her attorney for comment.
Shirilla\u2019s parents stand by her innocence and say they won\u2019t stop fighting for her release.
\u201cWe believe she\u2019s been falsely accused of something. We believe there\u2019s no evidence. There\u2019s no evidence that you can show me that says prior calculation, intent, there\u2019s nothing,\u201d Steve Shirilla told NBC News on Thursday. \u201cI don\u2019t know how it left the juvenile court. There\u2019s zero evidence. All the prosecution has that\u2019s factual is five seconds of black box information.\u201d
He said she should have been charged with vehicular homicide, if anything.
Natalie Shirilla also believes that her daughter didn\u2019t get a fair trial and that her first lawyer didn\u2019t use much of the information the family turned in.
\u201cLook at the evidence critically and objectively, and you will see there is no evidence of intent. She never threatened his life, his physical life,\u201d she said.
They remain determined in appealing her case.
\u201cI will never, ever, never stop,\u201d Natalie said. \u201cThere is no expiration on truth.\u201d
\u201cMackenzie would never hurt them or anybody she loves,\u201d she added. \u201cShe stands up for people that are in trouble or struggling. That\u2019s who she is.\u201d
The Russo and Flanagan families are still grappling with the devastating loss of their loved ones.
Davion Flanagan was a football player, aspiring barber and loving big brother, according to a fundraiser page by his family. The family has started a memorial barber school scholarship fund in his honor.
Dominic Russo was one of seven siblings and loved playing basketball. He was passionate about fashion and had plans to open his own clothing line, family members have told NBC News.
Both families have said the appeals process has been painful.
\u201cAnother day, another hearing. This time with three appellate judges deciding whether Mackenzie deserves post-conviction relief,\u201d Scott Flanagan, Davion\u2019s father, wrote on Facebook in January<\/a>.
\u201cIt seriously never ends. How many chances does she get when our son and Dominic didn\u2019t get a single one? It\u2019s like a scab being constantly ripped off when all we want to do is heal the loss of our son and forget all about the horrible person who ended his life,\u201d he added.
NBC News reached out to the Flanagans for comment.
Christine Russo, Dominic Russo\u2019s older sister, who participated in the Netflix documentary, said her family still struggles with his loss.
\u201cIt hasn\u2019t gotten any better. It\u2019s gotten worse. As time goes, we\u2019re missing him more as different stages of grief are hitting,\u201d she told NBC News.
\u201cSince the sentencing, it\u2019s appeal after appeal after appeal,\u201d she said Thursday. \u201cThere\u2019s no resting; there\u2019s no finding peace. It\u2019s just constant, like them slapping it again in our face every six months.\u201d
She said the family hasn\u2019t had any contact with the Shirillas outside of seeing them at court hearings.
Russo said that for years she tried avoid public discourse online about the case, but she has recently started her own podcast, \u201cThe Big Sister: Unhinged,\u201d to give her brother a voice, discuss sibling grief and raise domestic violence awareness.
Years later, she still keeps in contact with the Flanagans.
\u201cI feel so guilty. I feel so bad for his sisters, because I know how hard it hurts me. That was their older brother, their protector. Dom was my baby,\u201d she said. \u201cShe ruined everybody\u2019s existence on Earth, not just Dom\u2019s \u2014 everyone in our families, everyone in Davion\u2019s family, my kids.\u201d
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

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