Heartbreaking final text victim sent father before Mackenzie Shirilla car crash
Mackenzie Shirilla's boyfriend sent his father a moving text message just mere hours before he died in a horror 100mph collision.
Dominic Russo, 20, and Davion Flanagan, 19, lost their lives on 31 July, 2022, after the Toyota Camry they were travelling in smashed into a brick building in Strongsville, Ohio.
The driver responsible for the deadly crash was Russo's girlfriend of four years, Mackenzie Shirilla, who was then 17 years old.
The trio had been hanging out with a group of pals the prior evening before and left the gathering in the early hours of the morning.
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Tragically, her two passengers never made it out of the car alive - as a judge who described Shirilla as 'literal hell on wheels' ruled that she had purposely caused the fatal smash.
Sentencing the killer to 15 years to life in August 2023, Judge Nancy Russo said the driver's actions had been 'controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional and purposeful'.
A recently released Netflix documentary titled The Crash delved back into the complex case and featured a number of poignant interviews with friends and family of the victims.
Pals of Dominic and Davion shared their accounts of what had happened in the lead up to the deadly incident, while their relatives also spoke of the immeasurable grief they continue to battle.
Bubba Turner, who was a good friend of both of the late lads, revealed the touching final conversation he shared with Davion before he fatefully climbed into Shirilla's car.
Bubba told viewers of the documentary that he and the aspiring barber had planned to work on his truck together the following morning.
"Right before they left, me and Davion were talking," he said. "He was supposed to come over to work on my truck with me the next morning. I offered to take him home. It was set that he was coming home with me.
"And like last minute, he goes, 'You know what, I want to shower and maybe sleep for a little bit'.
"For some reason that morning, he gave me a hug and goes, 'I love you'. And I was like, 'I love you bro'. Very weird. It was the first time we said we loved each other in a while."
Dominic's relatives, including his father Frank and sister Christine, also appeared in The Crash to share their recollections.
Viewers also saw bodycam footage which captured the moment police officers informed the dad that his 20-year-old son had lost his life in the crash.
After cops delivered the devastating news, Frank asked them whether they were aware of what time the incident had taken place.
He then told them that Dominic had been in touch with him in the early hours of the morning and sent him a sweet three-word text message at 2:53am - just hours before his death.
The text simply read: "Love you dad."
Dominic's sister Christine spoke of how their 'really close family' had been ripped apart by his passing.
Showing a snap of her young son David kissing her late little brother on the cheek that 'melts her heart', she said: "You couldn't buy this picture off me for a million bucks. It means the world to me.
"He loved his nieces and nephews. He was there for everything, every family holiday. We're a really close family. That's probably the worst part. He didn't get to see my kids grow up."
Shirilla, who maintains her innocence and suggested a medical condition could have caused her to black out behind the wheel, is serving her sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
On a bizarre jail call, she was heard speaking of her desire for aspiring lawyer and socialite Kim Kardashian to help out with her legal case.
But the mother-of-four reportedly dismissed the idea of lending Shirilla a hand. Inmates who claim to have been locked up with the double murderer have also spoken out about what Shirilla was like behind bars.
Mackenzie Shirilla timeline
17 July 2022
Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, get into an argument. A friend allegedly overhears Shirilla tell him: “I will crash this car right now.”
31 July 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.”
4 November 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 possession charges.
7 August 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 confirm the diagnosis.
14 August 2023
Shirilla is found guilty on all counts. Judge Nancy Margaret Russo calls her ‘hell on wheels’, and the court concludes she intentionally crashed the car in a premeditated act.
23 August 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 the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
22 May 2025
Shirilla’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’.
15 May 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.
18 May 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.
Topics: US News, Mackenzie Shirilla, Crime, Netflix
Olivia Burke