Mackenzie Shirilla, infamously dubbed the ‘Hell on Wheels’ driver, is seeking a new trial by appealing her conviction for the tragic deaths of her boyfriend and their friend. The fatal incident occurred in 2022 when Shirilla crashed her vehicle into a building at a speed of 100 mph.
Throughout the ordeal, Shirilla has steadfastly claimed her innocence regarding the crash that resulted in the deaths of Dominic Russo, 20, and Davion Flanagan, 19. Her legal team is now pointing to potential medical issues that might have played a role in the incident.
In their appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court, her attorneys assert the existence of medical evidence indicating that Shirilla may have been suffering from a pre-existing condition, which could have caused her to lose consciousness behind the wheel. This new claim adds a layer of complexity to the case, as it suggests that her actions were not entirely within her control.
The legal team argues that Shirilla’s original trial in 2023 was compromised due to inadequate representation. They allege that her previous attorney did not thoroughly explore the possibility that Shirilla experienced blackouts due to Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a condition known to cause such symptoms.
Initially, the appeal was dismissed due to a missed filing deadline by a narrow margin of one day. However, the attorneys have since re-submitted the appeal in April, citing that the timeline should have commenced later because additional transcripts were filed after the main trial documentation. They contend that with proper legal representation, Shirilla might have been acquitted.
They argue that the clock should have been started later because a separate transcript was filed weeks after the main trial record, and assert that Shirilla would have been acquitted if she had received effective legal aid at her first trial.
But the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office says the appeal should be thrown out.
‘We are confident that any court that reviews this case will come to the same conclusion,’ it said in a statement.
The Ohio Supreme Court has not yet decided whether it will hear Shirilla’s appeal. If it does, justices would have the option to affirm her conviction, reverse it or send it back to a lower court.
‘Hell on Wheels’ driver Mackenzie Shirilla has repeatedly maintained her innocence in the crash that claimed the lives of her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, 20, and their friend, Davion Flanagan, 19
The trial heard she wanted to kill Dominic, left, to bring an end to their tumultuous relationship. Davion, a friend of Dominic, right, was in the wrong place at the wrong time
When authorities arrived on the scene of the crash on July 31, 2022, they found Shirilla’s Toyota Camry smashed in half
Prosecutors have argued that Shirilla, who was just 17 at the time of the crash, had previously threatened to kill her boyfriend.
Then, on the night of the deadly crash on July 31, 2022, surveillance footage showed how she failed to take her foot off the gas as her Toyota Camry smashed through a business sign and slammed into the side of the Plidco Building.
‘This was not reckless driving – this was murder,’ a judge concluded when delivering her verdict in 2023. ‘She had a mission, and she executed it with precision. The decision was death.’
The judge – who dubbed Shirilla ‘Hell on Wheels’ – described her actions as ‘controlled, methodical, deliberate, intentional, and purposeful,’ ruling that she intended to kill the young men.
Shirilla was then convicted on multiple counts, including aggravated vehicular homicide and felonious assault, and was sentenced to serve 15 years to life behind bars at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.
Her case has drawn national attention, fueled in part by disturbing details about Shirilla’s behavior before the crash. It has come back into the spotlight following the release of the documentary The Crash, streaming on Netflix.
Shirilla was convicted on multiple counts, including aggravated vehicular homicide and felonious assault, and sentenced to at least 15 years behind bars before she could face parole
But after Shirilla’s appeal for a new trial was denied in March, the now-21-year-old will not face the possibility of parole until 2037.
In the meantime, she will remain in the Ohio Reformatory for Women near Columbus, where she has quickly gained a reputation as a prolific lesbian and ‘Mean Girl’ behind bars, a former inmate previously revealed.
The former inmate, who gave her name as Kat, told the Daily Mail earlier this year that Shirilla was enjoying such torrid romances with other women that she would regularly walk around with ‘hickeys on her neck.’
‘She showed absolutely no remorse,’ she said. ‘Mackenzie acted like it was glorified high school… she walked around like she was famous.’
‘The girlfriend thing was well known,’ Kat continued. ‘And in prison it’s very common especially for people in her life sentence situation, and especially with the younger girls.’
