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‘THE CRASH’ on Netflix
The opening scene involves dashcam footage from a police cruiser in the early morning when coming upon a horrific car accident where an officer describes the vehicle being “split in two” with three occupants inside.
Appropriately, the Netflix film is titled “The Crash,” and the tag line on the poster is “Was it an accident?” The driver, 17-year-old Mackenzie Shirilla, is found to be breathing, while the passengers Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan are not so fortunate.
Dominic is Mackenzie’s boyfriend and Davion was the star running back at Strongsville High School in Ohio. Dominic was in the passenger seat and Davion riding in the back. By the looks of the mangled vehicle, it’s a wonder anyone could survive the crash.
Not even two minutes into the documentary, voiceovers raise the question of whether it was an accident or murder. The tragic calamity follows an evening where Mackenzie and her friends celebrated her high school graduation along with fellow graduate Davion.
Social media plays a big part in the storytelling of the adolescent behavior of the central characters and much of it is not pretty or flattering. Footage of doing drugs and smoking weed while driving suggests reckless and dangerous conduct more likely to result in disaster.
More disturbing is the surveillance recording showing the vehicle racing up to 100 miles per hour just moments before the crash. Investigation into the vehicle’s black box also shows that the brakes were not applied prior to the headlong smash into a brick building.
The initial conclusion is that reckless teenage driving caused the crash soon gave way to investigators questioning if this was an accident at all or a deliberate act that would lead to a charge of aggravated murder.
Early in the investigation, Dominic’s father, Frank Russo, observed that he walked the crash site and said the accident made no sense because of the absence of skid marks at the stop sign at the end of the street.
Early on, Tim Troup, assistant prosecutor, mentions his goal of bringing justice to the families that lost their loved ones and his determination to figure out what happened at the scene.
Police discovered that Mackenzie had small amounts of marijuana in her purse, a digital scale, and eight grams of mushrooms concealed in her clothing. All this was deemed significant information.
Troup begins picking through the potentials of what had caused the crash. Was it operator error or substance abuse? Or could it be a much more serious felony? Thus, a full picture of who Mackenzie was became necessary for the investigation.
There is footage showing Mackenzie playing with her pets, eating ice cream, hugging friends and the like. On the other hand, social media also painted a different picture with selfies that made her look more awful than the cliquish trio of wealthy mean girls in 2004’s “Mean Girls.”
While a blood sample was tested out of state, there was no indication Mackenzie had the presence of any psychedelic drugs in her system, even though her phone showed evidence of her tripping on mushrooms and an apparent daily ritual of smoking marijuana from a bong.
The eventual verdict in Mackenzie’s trial raises plenty of questions. Was the right decision made by the defendant or her attorney when given the choice of a bench trial or a judgment rendered by twelve members on a jury? Think about the ramification of one juror deciding not to vote guilty.
“The Crash” puts the viewer in the position of evaluating all investigative circumstances during its 90 minutes duration. Mackenzie’s parents, Steve and Natalie Shirilla, often look oblivious to their daughter’s reckless and cruel nature.
It also seems absurd that the Shirillas think their 17-year-old adolescent was mature enough to live with her 21-year-old boyfriend, who may have some financial savvy but still does not appear grounded for a serious relationship.
While Mackenzie’s parents prove to be anything but sympathetic characters, Davion’s father, Scott Flanagan, is anguished when it is revealed that Mackenzie, an aspiring model, is thrilled for an opportunity for public relations use of her “look” coming days after the accident.
Multiple videos of Mackenzie smoking marijuana while driving caught the attention of the prosecutor. Meanwhile, Steve Shirilla, proving he lacked decent parenting skills, said he had “no problem with her smoking dope and I don’t have a problem with me smoking dope.”
Several parties interviewed had the impression that Mackenzie and Dominic were destined to get married, which on its face would seem to be a bad idea for a relationship which seemed based in part on how much Dominic showered her with endless gifts.
In fact, what is damning for Mackenzie’s case is not just the lack of adult oversight in her life, but phone evidence of how her relationship with Dominic was volatile. What is worst of all is how Mackenzie and her parents are so unmindful of any accountability.
Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.