A small memorial has been created by the classmates and friends of three graduates of Strongsville High School who were involved in a one-car crash early on Sunday, July 31, that left two of them dead and a third one hospitalized in critical condition.
Among those killed in the tragic crash were 20-year-old Dominic Russo and 19-year-old Davion Flanagan, 2022 graduates of Strongsville High. Mackenzie Shirilla, a 17-year-old 2022 graduate, was pulled from the vehicle's wreckage and flown by Life Flight to MetroHealth Medical Center for treatment.
Strongsville Police Chief Mark Fender was visibly shaken as he spoke to FOX 8 in an interview, saying their hearts grieve for the tragedy. He thinks that anybody with children can commiserate with this loss and their hearts break for them.
Car speed was one of the factors behind crash
According to police, a passerby noticed a smashed-up car against a building in the Progress Drive Business Park around 6:15 a.m. on Sunday. Investigators said it appears the vehicle failed to stop at the end of Progress Drive. The car traveled across the lawn of the business, then hit a sign before crashing into the building.
Cops said it appears Shirilla was the one driving the car, and speed was one of the factors behind the crash. Chief Fender said he thinks it played a role in the crash, but it is still difficult to say how fast the car went. He added that the kind of damage incurred, the way the vehicle struck the sign, and the building, all played a role in the crash, according to Cleveland.com.
Investigators said the accident may have happened hours earlier, but the crash went undetected because the business park is in an area of Strongsville that is not heavily traveled. Police said it is too early to tell if the two dead victims might have been saved if the crash scene had been discovered earlier.
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Teenagers and their families could learn from the unfortunate crash
Flanagan had been a highly respected member of the Strongsville Mustangs football team, according to News 5 Cleveland. When Head Football Coach Lou Cirino learned of the 19-year-old's death in the car crash, he said his reaction was one of those things wherein your heart just goes into your stomach.
Cirino said he had high hopes for Flanagan after he made it through four tough years of Mustang football. He had just received his diploma in May. The coach said they battled for that young man to get him to graduate, help him out, pass all of his classes, and do a lot of stuff because his plan was to be a barber.
Cirino is also a teacher, and Shirilla was one of his students this year. He said they had a great relationship and knows she is in a fight for her life right now. Fender and Cirino believed that what happened early Sunday morning was a teaching moment for teens and their families.
