Killer’s Bizarre Claim: ‘I’m The Third Victim!’

Convicted killer Mackenzie Shirilla — who deliberately drove her car into a warehouse wall at nearly 100 mph, killing two passengers — was caught on jailhouse calls claiming she was the “third victim” of the very crash she was convicted of causing intentionally.

Story Snapshot

Shirilla was convicted of murder for the 2022 crash that killed her boyfriend Dominic Russo and his friend Davion Flanagan in Strongsville, Ohio.
Despite overwhelming forensic evidence including event data recorder readings showing speeds up to 100 mph with no braking, Shirilla portrayed herself as a victim in jailhouse calls.
At sentencing, Shirilla claimed she “would never let this happen or do it on purpose” and said she had no memory of the crash.
The sentencing judge rejected the defense narrative entirely, calling the crash a “mission of death” and dismissing the mother’s uncorroborated medical claims as unpersuasive.

A Crash the Data Says Was No Accident

In July 2022, then-17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla drove her car into a Strongsville, Ohio warehouse wall at close to 100 mph, killing passengers Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan. The vehicle’s event data recorder told a damning story: maximum speed, zero braking, and a hard right turn directly into the structure. Shirilla survived, critically injured, while both passengers died at the scene. Prosecutors built their case on that forensic record, and a judge ultimately agreed it pointed to deliberate, purposeful conduct.

The defense attempted to counter the forensic evidence with claims that Shirilla suffered from Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, a condition affecting blood pressure and heart rate, and may have blacked out behind the wheel. Defense counsel also floated the possibility that Russo grabbed the steering wheel before impact. The sentencing judge rejected both theories, noting that no medical records, treating physician testimony, or objective contemporaneous evidence supported the blackout claim. The mother’s statements offered in support were called “uncorroborated” from the bench.

Shirilla’s Own Words Undercut Her Defense

Standing before the court at sentencing, Shirilla delivered an emotional statement, telling the judge, “I would never let this happen or do it on purpose,” and describing the crash as a “terrible, tragic nightmare accident” she could not remember. She expressed sorrow toward the victims’ families, saying, “I wish I could remember what happened. I’m just so sorry. I’m heartbroken.” While the words conveyed grief, the judge found them insufficient to overcome the physical evidence compiled by investigators and crash reconstruction experts.

The judge addressed the defense’s suggestion that Shirilla may have intended to die in the crash herself, effectively framing it as a failed suicide attempt. The court was direct: “Even if Mckenzie intended to also die in this crash, that is irrelevant. A failed suicide attempt is not a defense to murder.” That ruling closed off one of the few remaining legal avenues the defense had attempted to use to soften the intentional-murder finding.

Jailhouse Calls Reveal a Troubling Mindset

After conviction, recorded jailhouse calls captured Shirilla describing herself as the “third victim” of the crash — a characterization that struck many observers, including the victims’ families, as deeply callous. Rather than expressing accountability, the calls suggested Shirilla continued to view herself as equally harmed as the two people who lost their lives. Dominic Russo’s sister and other family members have spoken publicly about the pain caused by that framing, pushing back firmly against any narrative that equalizes Shirilla’s experience with that of the deceased.

'Hell on wheels' killer Mackenzie Shirilla callously whined she was 'third victim' of fatal car wreck she intentionally caused in jailhouse call https://t.co/RNgqrKrjnT pic.twitter.com/2nQpmj4UIP

— New York Post (@nypost) May 21, 2026

The case gained renewed national attention after a Netflix documentary titled “The Crash” revisited the events, prompting fresh scrutiny of the evidence, the jailhouse calls, and the defense’s contested theories. True-crime coverage and public commentary have largely reinforced the prosecution’s version of events, given the straightforward nature of the forensic data. For the families of Russo and Flanagan, the “third victim” label is not a legal argument — it is an insult to the memory of two young men who never had a choice about what happened that night.