As most know, Netflix’s crime documentary titled The Crash, goes over the horrific murder-collision that killed young adults Davion Flanagan and Dominic Russo.

In the 2023 bench trial, the then 18-year-old Mackenzie Shrillia was found to have committed premeditated vehicular homicide following her 4-year-long toxic relationship with Dominic Russo. She is now concurrently serving two life sentences with the possibility of parole after 15 years.

Although Mackenzie’s story has been widely discussed and revisited, another figure in the documentary also deserved closer scrutiny — Mackenzie’s best friend Rosie Graham. 

After watching the Netflix documentary, it became clear that Rosie Graham was so blinded by her loyalty to Mackenzie that she was unwilling to pursue the truth surrounding the deaths of her other two friends, Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan.

Rosie appeared overly fixated on preserving the image of a once-perfect friend group that had long since fallen apart. And throughout the documentary, she denied the idea that her best friend was capable of committing a calculated and brutal crime. Consequently, Rosie repeatedly dismissed evidence that challenged her perception of her friend Mackenzie Shirilla.

The following three examples demonstrate how Rosie’s loyalty to Mackenzie overshadowed her concern for uncovering the truth about the deaths of her friends, Davion Flanagan and Dominic Russo.

Not helping the police piece together the night of the crash

Rosie is actually the first friend introduced in the film. And as mentioned before, she explained that she, her boyfriend, Mackenzie, Dominic, and Davion were once part of a close-knit group of friends. During her feature, she presented herself as someone who cared deeply about each of her friends equally.

However, 30 minutes into the documentary, it was revealed that Rosie repeatedly refused to tell police what happened the night two of her friends were killed.

At one point, police were trying to determine whether the crash was accidental or intentional. And given the seriousness of the investigation, it was difficult to understand why Rosie, who claimed to care about each of her friends, would choose not to share everything she knew about that night. 

Rosie defended her stance saying, “The police will try to say crazy things, especially if you’re like alone and a teenager. It doesn’t seem like we’re trying to figure out what happened in the accident. It seems like we’re trying to track down the next drug dealers.”

Regardless, her decision to not share any details related to Dominic’s and Davion’s last moments created the impression that protecting Mackenzie had become a greater priority than helping investigators. Therefore, it’s fair to say Rosie shielding Mackenzie from her fate was more important than solving the murders of Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan.

Whether her silence was motivated by fear, self-preservation, or something else entirely, choosing not to assist those trying to uncover the truth behind two dead friends makes Rosie’s expressions of concern feel unconvincing and disingenuous.

Not understanding how dressing as corpse after killing two friends is offsetting

Later into the documentary, investigators showed TikTok videos of Rosie and Mackenzie dressed for Halloween as what looks like corpses — an ill-fitting costume choice after ending two lives in a terrible car crash.

Rosie goes on to explain that the costumes were themed after Playboi Carti stating, “We were dressed as Playboi Carti. That’s his makeup that he does onstage. And I think most people my age know that.”

That’s fair. However dressing as a rapper didn’t remove how tone-deaf it was to dress as corpse-like figures with a friend who killed two people three months ago.

Honestly, partying in general soon after killing two friends is telling on its own. And according to the documentary, Mackenzie didn’t post enough apologetic or remorseful content online. Surely Rosie Graham was aware of that fact.

Rejecting the thought that Mackenzie could harm herself or others

Toward the end of the documentary, it was shown that during Mackenzie’s trial the defense suggested that in order for Mackenzie to have intentionally crashed the car, then that would mean she must have wanted to harm herself, which they believed not to be true. 

As expected, Rosie agreed. And as a part of her feature, she gave her opinion on that part of the trial.

“I would never, ever see her purposely wanting to hurt herself. Say that is, and she’s so sad, like mentally, I don’t think that’s the way to do it.” Rosie said.

But that’s “the way” Mackenzie did it. And frankly, this isn’t about how anyone thinks it should have been done, it’s the fact that it was done. Mackenzie alone decided to drive 100 mph into a brick wall with herself and two friends inside the car. Whether that was “the way to do it” was irrelevant.

So again, Rosie racked up any thoughts she could make to defend Mackenzie over Dominic and Davion, all in the name of friendship. But despite her efforts, anyone could see that crashing into a wall was the direct result of Mackenzie’s choice, and a definite sign that she was willing to harm herself and others.

All things considered, it’s understandable that Rosie Graham wanted to view Mackenzie Shirilla as a perfect friend that just made a tragic mistake. And being the friend of a suspected murderer that killed two additional friends is certainly an awkward position. 

However, it was still Rosie’s responsibility to look at the case objectively and make informed decisions on the possibility of murder instead of instinctively protecting Mackenzie over Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan. 

Two of her friends were driven and crashed into a wall that night, Rosie Graham should never forget that.