After almost 4 hours of testimony and proceedings, the motive force who struck and killed 17-year-old bike owner Magnus White in 2023 was sentenced to 4 years in state jail plus three years of obligatory parole.
Within the Boulder County Court docket in Colorado, Yeva Smilianska, 24, was sentenced for the cost of vehicular murder and reckless driving, which has a most penalty of six years imprisonment, plus fines.
Decide Dea Lindsey acknowledged the emotional weight and complexity of the case however finally declined to impose the utmost sentence sought by prosecutors.
“I do know that it would not do what the household needed this court docket to do. However I would like you to know, I consider that my resolution is correct below the authority I’ve,” she said, citing Smilianska clear legal document and the idea that she doesn’t pose an ongoing danger to the general public.
White was was a member of the U.S. nationwide biking crew. He was killed whereas on a coaching journey in July 2023, forward of the UCI World Championships held in Scotland the place he was set to compete. He was about quarter-hour from dwelling.
The sentencing adopted Smilianska’s conviction in April 2025 after a five-day jury trial. The trial didn’t dispute that she brought about White’s dying however somewhat, whether or not Smilianska’s driving constituted recklessness as a substitute of the lesser cost of careless driving inflicting dying.
Smilianska had initially pleaded not responsible in Could 2024, claiming her automobile had malfunctioned. Nonetheless, investigators discovered no mechanical defects and concluded that she had possible fallen asleep on the wheel. After seven hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously discovered Smilianska responsible, figuring out that she had made a acutely aware and harmful option to drive whereas impaired and fatigued.
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Throughout Friday’s sentencing, prosecuting legal professional Michael Dougherty urged the court docket to impose the utmost penalty, citing public security and the necessity for deterrence.
“This isn’t the primary vehicular murder sentencing I’ve stood earlier than the court docket on. These can not proceed on this means. The deterrent worth right here is critical,” Dougherty stated.
He argued that the case spoke to broader issues in regards to the security of cyclists and pedestrians. “The [impact statements from the community] spotlight a necessity for this after we consider cyclists and pedestrians and susceptible highway customers who’re being crashed into and killed on an all-too-regular foundation. And to advertise acceptance, duty and accountability.”
A central theme in the course of the testimonies was Smilianska’s obvious lack of regret and disconnect from the incident. Prosecutors, in addition to White’s mother and father, pointed to her flat demeanor, social media exercise in the course of the trial in addition to ongoing drug use and obvious absence of accountability.
“This sentencing listening to is way harder at this time if the defendant had expressed duty or regret,” Dougherty advised the court docket. “As a substitute, earlier than the incident, instantly following the crash and day by day since, the defendant has proven no care and no concern.”
He argued that the sentence ought to replicate Smilianska’s “full failure to simply accept duty and categorical any real regret.”
The profound sense of loss brought on by White’s dying was made clear by emotional sufferer influence statements from family and friends, who described him as a promising bike owner, a straight-A pupil and a beloved member of the neighborhood.
However past private grief, the statements highlighted the broader ripple impact White’s dying has had, felt by your complete biking neighborhood as fears about highway security for susceptible customers intensified.
“Each automobile that now passes me is a possible weapon,” stated Riley Cahill, a good friend and using accomplice of White. “If Magnus couldn’t discover a strategy to keep protected on the roads, then how can I?”
Cahill even warned that White’s dying is deterring a brand new technology of athletes: “Dad and mom now not need their kids wherever close to the roads, successfully diverting the following nice American cyclists away from using.”
Yeva Smilianska, proper, walks out of the Boulder County Courthouse along with her attorneys.
(Picture credit score: Getty Photographs)
Throughout its flip, the protection sought to exhibit Smilianka’s regret with testimony from pals who painted her life as one crammed with hardship.
A local of Ukraine, Smilianska endured a tough childhood and was compelled to go away her dwelling initially of the warfare. She struggled with psychological well being challenges whereas making an attempt to rebuild her life in the US. One character witness testified that Smilianska grew to become suicidal upon studying of White’s dying, however stated her time in jail gave her a brand new perspective and gratitude for all times.
“Her life has been a sequence of sorrow, dangerous luck in addition to some dangerous decisions,” stated Sofia Drobinskaya, an in depth good friend of Smilianska’s. She added that whereas Smilianska could not outwardly present it, “she could be very remorseful. She’s very deeply sorry for what occurred.”
Protection legal professional Benjamin Hartford additionally addressed Smilianska’s obvious uncaring courtroom demeanor, attributing it to the drugs she takes for PTSD and bipolar dysfunction.
“These drugs are temper stabilizers and one of many results of those drugs is to current with a flat have an effect on,” he said. “This doesn’t suggest she’s an unfeeling individual, it does not imply she would not really feel feelings, simply that these medicine mute these emotions.”
With the assistance of a translator, Smilianska additionally addressed the court docket herself, stating “I can not categorical with phrases that I’ve, how a lot I wish to return to those choices I’ve made and what has introduced me right here at this time. However to my largest sorrow, I can not do it.”
Earlier than deliberations, the protection requested the choose to contemplate a probationary sentence, citing a sequence of comparable circumstances. In every, the defendant, like Smilianska, had no prior legal document and, consequently, none obtained the utmost penalty.
The sentencing marks the top of the White household’s almost two-year pursuit of legal accountability for his or her son.
“This sentence is 2 years wanting the utmost sentence permitted by the regulation for the cost of vehicular murder in Colorado. This isn’t justice. And this sentence won’t ever start to fill the big void left by Magnus’ absence,” the White household write on social media after the sentencing. “No guardian ought to ever have to carry their youngster’s helmet as a substitute of their youngster.”
