Mackenzie Shirilla sits in jail because a device she probably didn’t know existed proved she never touched the brakes before crashing into a wall at 100 miles per hour killing her two passengers. That case is the subject of the new Netflix documentary The Crash. Dallas attorney and traffic safety advocate Amy Witherite, founder of the Witherite Law Group, says that same technology is doing something else every day helping accident victims get justice.
“That same black box is riding in nearly every vehicle on the road right now,” says Witherite. “And if you are ever seriously injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, that data could be the difference between proving your case and walking away with nothing.”
Event Data Recorders capture a precise snapshot of a vehicle’s actions in the critical seconds before impact speed, braking, throttle position, seatbelt usage, and whether safety systems were engaged. In accident litigation, that data can be decisive evidence of negligence. But there is a critical catch: the window to preserve it can close quickly, and decoding it requires specialized technical expertise most accident victims don’t know they need.
“Today, just seeking out eyewitnesses or a copy of a police report isn’t enough,” Witherite says. “The technology in your vehicle — as well as others involved in an accident — can provide a wealth of valuable information. That is especially important when it comes to determining liability and ultimately damages. Knowing what is available and taking immediate steps to preserve and recover it cannot be delayed.”
Beyond the Black Box: A Vehicle’s Full Digital Footprint
Witherite, who specializes in vehicle accident cases involving commercial trucks, driverless vehicles, and advanced driver-assistance systems, notes that Event Data Recorders are just one piece of a much larger digital picture that skilled attorneys can access:
- Airbag Control Modules (ACM): Record speed, braking, seatbelt status, engine RPM, steering angle, and whether stability control was engaged at the moment of impact.
- Engine Control Modules (ECM): Required on all tractor-trailers and large commercial vehicles, providing similar data to the ACM — critical in truck accident cases.
- Fleet Management Systems: Track a commercial vehicle’s operations long before an accident, documenting patterns of unsafe driving such as chronic speeding or hard braking.
- Tesla and Advanced Camera Systems: Can provide video footage that definitively establishes cause and fault — evidence that can be used directly in court.
- Autonomous and Driverless Vehicle Systems: Store proprietary operational data that, when properly analyzed by technical experts, can reveal critical information about system failures or driver override actions.
Why Victims Must Act Immediately
EDR data can be overwritten or lost. Witherite emphasizes that preserving electronic evidence requires prompt legal action — including formally notifying potential defendants of their obligation to preserve data, issuing subpoenas for electronic records, and retaining technical experts who can download, interpret, and present vehicle data in a courtroom.
“The bottom line is that if you are involved in a serious accident, it is never too soon to get expert help,” says Witherite. “The evidence that proves your case may already exist inside the vehicles involved. The question is whether anyone moves fast enough to get it.”
About Amy Witherite and the Witherite Law Group
Amy Witherite is a Dallas-based attorney, founder of the Witherite Law Group, and a nationally recognized traffic safety advocate. She specializes in serious vehicle accident cases, including accidents involving commercial trucks, driverless vehicles, and advanced driver-assistance systems, and has extensive experience using electronic vehicle data to build cases for injured clients. For more information, visit www.witheritelaw.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260602700708/en/
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