Newly released text messages shed light on the strained relationship between Mackenzie Shirilla and her boyfriend, Dominic Russo, in the weeks before the July 31, 2022, crash in Strongsville, Ohio, that killed Russo and their friend Davion Flanagan. In messages obtained by TMZ and published on May 27, Shirilla, then 17, told Russo she had been experiencing blackouts and feared her condition “is just gonna get worse.” Russo replied by suggesting she might be vitamin deficient and that it could affect blood flow to her brain. The exchange adds new context to a case that has continued to draw attention after Netflix’s documentary The Crash revisited the events surrounding the fatal wreck.
Shirilla, now 21, was convicted in 2023 of murder, vehicular homicide and other charges and sentenced to two concurrent terms of 15 years to life. She was tried as an adult despite being a minor at the time of the crash. During trial, she said she blacked out because of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, a chronic condition that can cause dizziness, rapid heartbeat and fatigue. Prosecutors argued that evidence showed she was driving at about 100 mph when her Toyota Camry struck a brick building and that there was no sign she applied the brakes before impact.
Investigators said Russo, 20, and Flanagan, 19, were not wearing seatbelts and died at the scene. Shirilla was critically injured and taken to a hospital by air ambulance. Her defense centered on her claimed medical condition, while the prosecution presented the crash as intentional. The judge later described her in court as “literal hell on wheels,” a phrase that became widely associated with the case.
The newly surfaced texts also suggest tension between the couple before the crash. In one message, Shirilla allegedly warned Russo, “Keep treating me like this see where that gets you.” In another exchange from weeks before the collision, Russo appeared to be considering a breakup, writing that he did not want Shirilla to think he was abandoning her but believed the relationship was not working, especially because of threats between them. Russo’s family has long said Shirilla made threats toward their son before the fatal accident.
A separate incident reportedly captured on Russo’s phone showed Shirilla banging on his door, using derogatory language and threatening to key his car if he would not let her in. After the crash, authorities determined Shirilla had marijuana in her system. Her blood tested negative for alcohol, and mushrooms found in the car were not detected in her blood.
One of Shirilla’s final Instagram posts, published in September 2022, was a tribute to Russo in which she expressed grief and said she missed him. Shirilla is serving her sentence at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville and will be eligible for parole in October 2037.
