Mackenzie Shirilla's Dad Slams Prosecutors For Laziness, Defends His Marijuana Remark, 'I'm A Dad..'

The Crash has brought the 2022 case from Strongsville, Ohio, back into the limelight. The crash that happened in the early hours of July 31, 2022, left everyone stunned and turned fatal for two passengers, Dominic (Dom) Russo and Davon Flangan, in the car alongside Mackenzie Shirilla. The latter is now serving two concurrent 15-year-to-life prison sentences after being convicted in August 2023 on multiple charges, including murder and aggravated vehicular homicide, for crashing her sedan into a brick wall at nearly 100 mph. And now, her father, Steve Shirilla, has once again spoken about what happened and his daughter's substance use. 

Steve Shirilla on his daughter, Mackenzie Shirilla's marijuana use

Mackenzie Shirilla's father, Steve Shirilla, has been making headlines ever since the documentary, The Crash, was released. In the documentary, he discussed his daughter's cannabis use while maintaining her innocence. He claimed that he doesn't have any problem with her smoking and, "if you're going to smoke a drug, that's the one I believe you should take." However, the comment didn't sit well with viewers, and in a recent conversation with TMZ dated May 19, 2026 (ET), he explained what he meant.

Steve Shirilla claimed he was not promoting marijuana use but instead explained that he could not control his daughter's choices. He revealed that there was no way he could have stopped her, hence why he said he can't say she can and cannot smoke. He asserted that he wasn't asking others to go smoke marijuana. He was quoted as saying:

"I wasn't in support of marijuana or wasn't saying I'm smoking marijuana. What I was saying is that who am I to say who can smoke and who can't smoke? Now, I never allowed my daughter to smoke marijuana. How was I stopping her? You know, she was..I couldn't lock her up in her room. I'm not quite sure why there's a problem with what I said. It was never, 'Hey, everybody go smoke marijuana.'" 

For the unversed, in The Crash, Assistant Prosecutor, Tim Troup said Mackenzie Shirilla had traces of THC in her system at the time of the crash. While the investigators determined it did not contribute to what happened, in court, he also pointed to videos taken by Mackenzie that showed her engaging in distracted or reckless driving, including clips of her driving while smoking what appeared to be marijuana. Steve further addressed these clips in a conversation with TMZ and shared:

"All I can do is teach her 'don't do this'. 'You're going to get in trouble', or 'this is going to happen', or something. You know, that's all I can do. I'm a dad."

Steve Shirilla calls the prosecutors lazy

During the trial, the prosecutors argued that vehicle data showed Mackenzie never hit the brakes in roughly five seconds before the impact. They further claimed that the vehicle showed no signs of mechanical failure. However, Steve said he doesn't see how that piece of evidence alone proves that his daughter intentionally caused the crash. During the conversation with TMZ, Steve reflected on the accident and said:

"This prosecutor is, in my opinion, is lazy, It's like the wife dies and they instantly think it's the husband. So, there's so much in this case, and there's so much omission of evidence and changing of evidence."

Steve Shirilla on being placed on administrative leave 

It was on May 18, 2026 (ET) when an email was sent to parents of Mary Queen of Peace School, explaining how Steve Shirilla was placed on administrative leave from his teaching job at the Cleveland-based school, according to 19 News and WKYC, following backlash over his appearance in the documentary. In the conversation with TMZ, he revealed that he has only been informed that school officials are conducting an internal investigation following complaints from concerned parents.

image credit: TMZ/YT, The Crash/Netflix

What are your thoughts on Steve Shirilla's revelations? Let us know.

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