Key Insights
How did the crash investigation lead to Mackenzie Shirilla being charged with murder?
During the crash reconstruction, Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Elliot Rawson reported that the car was traveling at an average speed of 97.8 miles per hour as it neared the intersection where it collided with the building.
Troup indicated that toxicology tests revealed THC, the active component in marijuana, present in Mackenzie’s blood, while no alcohol or psilocybin was detected.
A forensic auto investigator determined that “the braking, the steering, the tires, the acceleration were working properly,” according to Troup, confirming that the car “didn’t malfunction.”
Ohio State Highway Patrol Sgt. Ryan Fox noted in the document that the Camry’s electronic data recorder indicated that the accelerator pedal was “completely pressed all the way down” in the five seconds leading up to the crash.
“Most people would want to slow the vehicle or stop the vehicle to avoid that type of an impact,” Fox stated. “In this case, there was no braking.”
The data revealed that three seconds prior to impact, Fox elaborated, the steering wheel moved right, then left, then sharply right, and the car shifted from drive to neutral, then back into drive.
“I think the boys were trying to save their life,” Troup remarked. “I think Dom and Davion were yanking on the wheel, grabbing at the gearshift, and it was just too late.”
