Mackenzie Shirilla, now imprisoned for causing a tragic car crash that claimed the lives of her boyfriend and another friend, was once a well-liked student in high school. However, the incident has cast a shadow over her past, revealing a more complex persona.
The teen, who is the focus of Netflix’s The Crash, shared snippets of her seemingly glamorous life on social media as she posed with friends, relaxed in her bikini and spent time with boyfriend Dominic Russo.
While some remember Shirilla fondly, prosecutors argue that she deliberately drove her car into a brick wall in 2022, resulting in the deaths of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan. Meanwhile, other reports suggest that Shirilla had a reputation for bullying classmates and frequently clashed with school officials.
To explore the differing perspectives on Shirilla’s life, continue reading below.
Mackenzie Shirilla Was Part of “Best Friend Group,” Friend Says
Prior to the fatal accident, those closest to Shirilla described their time together as idyllic. They spent the post-graduation summer enjoying carefree days with friends.
“This was the best group of friends I’ve ever had,” said Landon “Bubba” Turner in a recent documentary. “We didn’t have any worries in the world.”
Rosie Graham, another friend, mentioned that she bonded with Shirilla over their mutual interest in becoming influencers.
“She would come to school with a purse instead of a bag, which I thought was really cute,” Graham explained in The Crash. “I got along with her well because I’m like, ‘You’re cute’ and she’s like, ‘You’re cute’ we get along so well.”
When she wasn’t in class, Shirilla could often be found with Russo, her boyfriend of four years.
“Dom and Kenzie,” Graham said, “they’re such a duo.”
Classmates Allege Mackenzie Shirilla Bullied Others
But not everyone saw Shirilla in such a positive light.
Davion’s sister Davyne Flanagan recalled others being intimidated by her.
“Me and Mackenzie, we went to the same school, but we were in a different year,” she said. “She gave off this persona and this act of being like high up and better than anyone else.”
She added that people often steered away from the teen “because she got very aggressive and could bully people and talk bad about people.”
One-time friend Rachel Anderson expressed a similar sentiment.
“Mackenzie, she wanted the likes, she wanted the followers, she wanted to be at the top,” Anderson alleged on the Mean Girl Murders podcast. ”Mackenzie gets what she wants, Mackenzie is never punished and now Mackenzie is punished, and there’s nothing Mackenzie or her family can do.”
Jaina Maynard also described Shirilla on the podcast as being “terrible to people.”
She was also frequently in trouble at school, according to Assistant Prosecutor Tim Troup.
“The school records showed one incident after the next of disrespect to teachers and fellow students,” he said in The Crash. “You just get a general picture of someone who does not have a lot of adult oversight.”
The teen’s life was irrevocably altered on July 31, 2022 when the car she was driving at speeds of 100 mph crashed into a brick wall, killing Russo and Flanagan.
Though Shirilla and her family insisted the crash was an accident likely caused by a medical emergency, investigators charged her with murder after finding evidence to suggest Shirilla had pressed the accelerator “to its full extent” and never applied the brakes, according to a statement from the Cuyahuga County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney.
She was convicted in August 2023 of four counts of murder, four counts of felonious assault and two counts of aggravated vehicular homicide and is currently serving out a sentence of 15 years to life.
What is Mackenzie Shirilla’s Life Like Behind Bars?
Now behind bars, former inmate Kat Crowder told NewsNation that Shirilla never showed remorse for the fatal crash and compared her to Mean Girls’ Regina George.
“I do say that she wanted to be like Regina George,” she said. “I mean, just the way that she did her makeup, the way that she, I mean, it was like she was going out to a club or something.”
Shirilla is currently serving out her sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women, according to jail records reviewed by Oxygen.
