Since Netflix released The Crash on May 15, the case of Mackenzie Shirilla has returned to the centre of public attention.
With renewed scrutiny on the 2022 Strongsville crash, agencies say they’ve fielded a wave of public records requests. In just the past week, additional prison disciplinary documents have surfaced, along with reports alleging a sexually explicit video call while incarcerated, and a new filing connected to an Ohio Supreme Court appeal.
Despite the intensified spotlight, Shirilla’s position has not changed. She continues to argue that she did not intentionally drive her Toyota Camry into a brick wall at close to 100 mph, a collision that killed her boyfriend Dominic Russo and their friend Davion Flanagan. Her explanation remains that she lost consciousness due to POTS, a disorder involving the autonomic nervous system that can trigger dizziness and fainting.
Her legal team is also attempting to revive the case through a new appeal, contending they missed a deadline by one day because of a calendar error tied to 2024 being a leap year.
Now, recently disclosed text messages are being cited as potentially bolstering that medical narrative—because they speak directly to her claims of blacking out prior to the crash.
Records obtained by both PEOPLE and TMZ—sourced from the Strongsville Police Department—show Shirilla messaging Russo about blackout episodes in the weeks leading up to the crash, with references that stretch back to 2020.
In one 2020 exchange, Shirilla wrote: “I had a rlly bad blackout today fr.”
Later, on July 2, 2022, fewer than four weeks before the fatal crash, she messaged Russo again and described what she said was a severe episode, calling it “probably the worst black out like pain level I’ve had.”
TMZ reports that Russo replied by floating the idea that a vitamin deficiency might be contributing to reduced blood flow to her brain. The conversation reportedly deteriorated into an argument, with Shirilla responding: “Keep treating me like this see where that gets you.”
On July 31, 2022, Shirilla—then 17—drove her Toyota Camry into the wall of an office building in Strongsville, Ohio at nearly 100 mph. Russo, 20, and Flanagan, 19, were killed in the impact.
Surveillance video captured the vehicle racing through the area moments before it struck.
Information recovered from the car’s data recorder indicated the accelerator was fully depressed, with no apparent braking in the five seconds leading up to the collision.
Prosecutors maintained the crash was intentional. In 2023, Shirilla was convicted of double murder and received two concurrent life sentences, with parole eligibility beginning in 2037.
Her defence, however, argued that she suffered from POTS, describing it as a condition that can cause symptoms such as dizziness, rapid heart rate, fatigue, and fainting—an explanation her mother also suggested could account for a blackout while driving.
Interest in the case surged again after Netflix premiered The Crash on May 15, which included Shirilla’s first on-camera interview.
When asked how a medical episode could align with the way the car was driven, she said: “I’m unsure because I have no recollection of that morning, but I know nothing about it was intentional because that’s not my character.”
On April 27, her attorneys submitted an appeal to the Ohio Supreme Court arguing there “is medical evidence” she “suffered from a pre-existing medical condition that could have caused her to black out while driving”, and claiming her initial defence team did not properly pursue the issue or bring in expert testimony to support it.
The New York Post has also highlighted that, according to audio captured shortly after the crash, Shirilla asked her mother whether they could tell police she had experienced a medical emergency or seizure—an element prosecutors emphasized during trial.
The Post further reported claims about her conduct in custody, including allegations that she referred to herself as the “third victim” of the incident and complained about not having her iPad.
The Ohio Supreme Court has not yet said whether it will take up the appeal.
Mackenzie Shirilla’s Attorney has been approached for comment.