Practically two years after 17-year-old elite bicycle owner Magnus White was struck and killed throughout a coaching trip 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 Could 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 will likely be sentenced in June.
“This conviction is a small step ahead for accountability,” mentioned White’s mom, Jill. “This verdict acknowledges what now we have recognized all alongside: Magnus’ dying was not an accident – it was against the law.”
The costs
(Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
The five-day trial was held to not decide whether or not Yeva Smilianska had certainly killed the 17-year-old Group USA bicycle 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 dying is a misdemeanor punishable by as much as one 12 months in jail, whereas reckless driving leading to dying is a felony carrying a jail sentence of two to 6 years plus attainable fines.
The prosecution argued that Smilianska made a aware and harmful determination to drive regardless of being impaired by fatigue, alcohol and drugs.
“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 she or he ignored a considerable threat when she made that alternative — she drove straight into Magnus when she hit him,” the prosecutor informed the jury.
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The witnesses
Magnus White’s father, Michael White, addresses the courtroom
(Picture credit score: Getty Photos)
The prosecution known as on 4 drivers who had witnessed the incident in July 2023 to take the stand.
A number of witnesses mentioned they noticed her automotive 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 toes, truly. Possibly seven toes up within the air.” In line with Magnus’ mother and father, the impression launched their son 30 toes.
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 bicycle owner. “It was an extremely arduous 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 depart the scene, regardless of her visibly damaged windshield.
“[T]he method [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 towards deciphering Smilianska’s response via 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 remedy for bipolar dysfunction that night.
A buddy took to the stand and testified about Smilianska’s situation, stating that she had not appeared outwardly intoxicated. Nevertheless, 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 troublesome for her to just accept that she had taken a life. “I can’t even describe how arduous,” 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 known as the choice “a small step ahead for accountability,” however added, “no matter sentence [Smilianska] receives shouldn’t be 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 accountability — 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 towards Smilianska, set to start as soon as the prison 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 consuming…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 endlessly,” Michael defined.
A spokesperson for The White Line Basis, established by the household within the wake of Magnus’ dying, mentioned that had correct protocols been adopted, justice might need been served extra successfully. “If the investigation had been finished proper, and a drug check had been administered, this is able to 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 via The White Line Basis and has known as on others to affix their trigger.
