Mary Queen of Peace School in Cleveland placed teacher Steve Shirilla on administrative leave after the release of the Netflix documentary The Crash, as the school said it was investigating allegations made on social media that one of its teachers had demonstrated poor judgment.
The school said it acted immediately after learning of the allegation and that the investigation was ongoing. Shirilla is listed on the school website as the art and digital media teacher.
The move came as the documentary renewed attention on the case of Mackenzie Shirilla, who crashed her vehicle on July 31, 2022, in Strongsville, Ohio, while traveling 100 mph before slamming into a brick wall. Dominic Russo and Davion Flanagan were killed in the crash. In 2023, a Cuyahoga County judge found Shirilla guilty of multiple charges, including murder and aggravated vehicular homicide, and she was sentenced to life in prison with eligibility for parole after 15 years served.
A parent told 19 News the students did love and respect Mr. Shirilla as a teacher, and said the leave was not for actions he had done at the school itself. The parent said the school serves children ages 5 to 14 years old and asked that they be left out of the situation.
That is the point where the school’s response and the public reaction begin to split. Mary Queen of Peace said it was responding to social media allegations and to community backlash, but the documentary has also pulled a private family tragedy back into the public eye and brought attention to a school that now says it is trying to protect its students while the investigation continues.
The case has now spread beyond the courtroom and into a classroom where the teacher at the center of the fallout is not accused of any action at school. What happens next depends on the school’s inquiry, but for now the immediate result is clear: Steve Shirilla is off campus while Mary Queen of Peace reviews the allegations tied to a case that has returned to the spotlight.
