The family of one of two young men killed in an intentional crash is hoping to give other young people the opportunity to follow the same dream their son had.
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Jaime and Scott Flanagan tell News 5 that many knew their son Davion as a standout athlete.
“He could pick up any sport and be good at it from the start. So he was mainly focused on football. That was his passion,” Scott Flanagan said.
Jaime Flanagan added, “But he was also a good swimmer. Baseball, track, you name it, this kid could do it.”
The starting Strongsville running back also discovered a talent for cutting hair. It was a passion he planned to pursue this fall at barber college.
“He was self-taught, but he ended up being the barber for the entire high school football team, including the coaching staff,” Scott Flanagan laughed.
The Flanagans adopted Davion and his sisters when they were young children and said he was always a protective and close big brother to the girls. And proud as they were of his athletic accomplishments, the parents said Davion was just as well known for his generosity and warmth.
“He didn’t have cliques. Anyone who wanted his heart and his time, he was going to be there for them,” said Scott Flanagan.
For the past year, the family has been navigating life without Davion.
“Sometimes I think he’s still going to walk through the door,” his mother said.
The 19-year-old died in late July 2022 while riding in a car with his 20-year-old friend Dominic Russo and Dominic’s 17-year-old girlfriend, Mackenzie Shirilla. Investigators determined Shirilla was driving at speeds near 100mph when she purposely crashed into a building in a Strongsville industrial park.
“I literally just sunk to the floor sobbing. It’s every parent’s worst nightmare,” Jaime Flanagan said.
“There’s a Davion-sized hole in our family, and you feel it every day. I don’t know if it gets better with more time,” Scott Flanagan added. “But I do know, since the day it happened, there’s been a giant emptiness in our lives that once was there. He was a wonderful human being and now he’s gone.”
The family said the high-profile trial, which highlighted Shirilla’s intent and the final moments inside the car, was grueling. They considered it a victory when the case was bound over from juvenile to adult court. And though they appreciate investigators and the judge holding Shirilla accountable, they said realizing justice for Davion’s death is a complex issue.
“I don’t think we ever wanted to see her spend her entire life in jail,” Scott Flanagan said. “The best thing that could come from this is for Mackenzie to have a change of heart and to take responsibility for her actions, to apologize to us, not for an accident, but for murdering our son.”
After the turmoil of the past year, the Flanagans said they wanted to create something positive to honor their son.
“The only way is through. You can’t get stuck, you can’t go back, you can’t change what happened,” said Davion’s father. “But you can move forward and try to do something beautiful in his memory. And that’s where the idea of the scholarship came in.”
The family is creating a scholarship to Allstate Hairstyling and Barber College. As of Monday afternoon, they’ve raised more than $24,000. The funds will help cover tuition costs for students following a path Davion had hoped to pursue.
The Flanagans hope it creates opportunities and a legacy in honor of their son.
“He was so much more than ‘the friend in the backseat,’” said his mother. “His life was so precious and valuable. He’s missed and loved and we want to carry on that heart of his, that giving heart.”
You can support the Davion Flanagan scholarship fund by clicking on this link.
