The true-crime documentary that has users glued to the screen: ‘The Crash’
Netflix’s true-crime catalogue has always been a source of massive traction for viewers worldwide, which explains why The Crash is currently trending internationally as well.
The Netflix movie debuted on the most popular movies chart in the week ending May 17th with a whopping 11.7million views, ranking third, right behind Nathan Greno’s record-breaking animated fantasy adventure Swapped and Olivia Newman’s adaptation of Shelby Van Pelt’s Remarkably Bright Creatures.
In its debut week, The Crash has managed to outperform Baltasar Kormákur’s sweaty survival thriller, Apex and Tyree Dillihay’s animated sports comedy, Goat.
Directed by Gareth Johnson, the true-crime movie revisits a shocking incident that shook the Strongsville community of Ohio in July 2022. A car travelling at a 100 kmph speed rammed into the side of a brick building, killing two. The driver was 17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla, who was reportedly driving back home with her boyfriend and a friend from their high school graduation when the crash took place.
Although the incident initially came across as a tragic accident, as investigators dug deeper into the wreckage, the signs started pointing to a scene of a calculated crime, with all eyes on Shirilla. The Crash retraces the highly publicised investigation that followed the 2022 collision, which killed Dominic “Dom” Russo and Davion Flanagan, leaving Mackenzie as the sole survivor.
At the time of the crash, Shirilla was 17 and was romantically involved with Dom for about four years. The incident took place in the wee hours of July 31 when the car struck the side of a building as Shirilla, Dom, and Davion were returning home from a college gathering. When the cops and emergency first responders arrived at the scene, Dom and Davion had succumbed to their injuries.
While Mackenzie was seriously injured as well, she was airlifted from the spot, and she survived. Right after the accident, investigators considered several possible explanations, including mechanical error, substance abuse, or a serious felony. However, one by one, all those possibilities were negated. But a groundbreaking discovery changed the course of the investigation when Strongsville authorities uncovered surveillance footage of the car’s last moments.
The footage shows that the car made a consciously deliberate turn before speeding up to 100 miles per hour, and the car’s event data recorder further revealed that the accelerator was pushed to full force for the full five seconds of pre-crash data with no attempt to hit the brake.
The film reconstructs the events of the night through bodycam and surveillance videos, call recordings, courtroom footage, and interviews with those close to the trio. The Crash captures the months-long investigation that evolved from a seeming tragedy to a double homicide. Although the circumstances of the events are enough to draw viewers in, to find the full story and motivations, tune into The Crash on Netflix.