Practically two years after 17-year-old elite bike owner Magnus White was struck and killed throughout a coaching experience close to his Boulder, Colorado, dwelling, the motive force concerned, 24-year-old Yeva Smilianska, was discovered responsible of vehicular murder following a five-day trial that concluded on April 4, 2025.
When Smilianska was first formally charged in Might 2024, she pleaded not responsible, setting the stage for the trial that started on March 31, 2025, on the Boulder County Courthouse.
On Friday at 10 p.m. MST, after seven hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously returned a verdict discovering Smilianska responsible of reckless driving and vehicular murder. She might be sentenced in June.
“This conviction is a small step ahead for accountability,” mentioned White’s mom, Jill. “This verdict acknowledges what we now have identified all alongside: Magnus’ loss of life was not an accident – it was against the law.”
The costs
(Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)
The five-day trial was held to not decide whether or not Yeva Smilianska had certainly killed the 17-year-old Group USA bike owner Magnus White — each the prosecution and protection acknowledged that she did — however on whether or not her driving was legally thought-about “careless” or “reckless.” In Colorado, careless driving leading to loss of life is a misdemeanor punishable by as much as one yr in jail, whereas reckless driving leading to loss of life is a felony carrying a jail sentence of two to 6 years plus attainable fines.
The prosecution argued that Smilianska made a acutely aware and harmful determination to drive regardless of being impaired by fatigue, alcohol and medicine.
“This can be a case the place the defendant made a alternative — a option to get behind the wheel when she knew she was drained, when she knew she was falling asleep — and he or she ignored a considerable danger when she made that alternative — she drove straight into Magnus when she hit him,” the prosecutor instructed the jury.
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The witnesses
Magnus White’s father, Michael White, addresses the courtroom
(Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)
The prosecution referred to as on 4 drivers who had witnessed the incident in July 2023 to take the stand.
A number of witnesses mentioned they noticed her automobile veer erratically towards the shoulder earlier than it struck Magnus. One, Preet Cooper, recalled, “I noticed the boy—he was up within the air. It was a few ft, truly. Perhaps seven ft up within the air.” In line with Magnus’ dad and mom, the affect launched their son 30 ft.
Testimony additionally targeted on Smilianska’s behaviour earlier than and after the crash.
Witness Rachel Blaydes mentioned Smilianska didn’t brake or seem to acknowledge that she had hit a bike owner. “It was an extremely onerous scenario, and I didn’t really feel like [Smilianska’s] response was reflective of the scenario,” Blaydes mentioned, additional testifying that Smilianska initially requested to go away the scene, regardless of her visibly damaged windshield.
“[T]he approach [Smilianska] was standing there, it didn’t really feel proper,” one other witness added. “It simply felt very impassive, like nothing had occurred [to] her.”
The protection countered by cautioning in opposition to decoding Smilianska’s response by means of the lens of anticipated social behaviour, suggesting that cultural and particular person variations in emotional expression ought to be thought-about.
Social behaviour apart, there was additionally the query of impairment. Smilianska had admitted to a police officer on the scene that she had consumed alcohol the evening earlier than and into the early morning hours, after ending a shift at a bar. She additionally took treatment for bipolar dysfunction that night.
A pal took to the stand and testified about Smilianska’s situation, stating that she had not appeared outwardly intoxicated. Nonetheless, round midday on the day of the incident, Smilianska had texted that very same writing, “I’m falling asleep so I’m going dwelling.” Twenty minutes later, she struck Magnus.
When Smilianska took the stand in her personal protection and was requested whether or not it was tough for her to just accept that she had taken a life. “I can’t even describe how onerous,” she mentioned.
A step towards accountability
Magnus White was a junior racer on the US nationwide cyclocross and xc mountain bike groups
(Picture credit score: Penultimate Stage)
Late within the night on Friday, April 4, the jury unanimously discovered Smilianska responsible of reckless driving and vehicular murder. Smilianska, who has been launched on bond, now awaits sentencing, scheduled for June 13, 2025.
Jill referred to as the choice “a small step ahead for accountability,” however added, “no matter sentence [Smilianska] receives just isn’t sufficient.”
“She lied about how a lot she drank. She lied about when she drank. She lied in regards to the time she took her pharmaceuticals. She lied to the police. She lied to investigators,” Magnus’ father, Michael White, added. “She has proven no regret and brought no duty — not till she needed to get on the stand in courtroom, 615 days after she killed Magnus.”
The White household has filed a civil swimsuit in opposition to Smilianska, set to start as soon as the felony trial concludes. Moreover, of their post-verdict assertion, they expressed disappointment with how the preliminary investigation of the crash was dealt with, calling it “a systemic failure by these whose job it’s to guard the general public.”
“Three companies responded to the crash that day…protocols weren’t adopted…[Smilianska] admitted she had been ingesting…and but, not a single officer requested a sobriety check or blood draw. They even let [Smilianska] take away objects from the scene. Crucial proof was misplaced ceaselessly,” Michael defined.
A spokesperson for The White Line Basis, established by the household within the wake of Magnus’ loss of life, mentioned that had correct protocols been adopted, justice might need been served extra successfully. “If the investigation had been achieved proper, and a drug check had been administered, this may have been a [much longer] sentence and a a lot shorter investigation,” the spokesperson mentioned.
Shifting ahead, the White household stays dedicated to advocating for stronger protections for cyclists and pedestrians by means of The White Line Basis and has referred to as on others to hitch their trigger.
