A Boulder, Colorado, jury found Yeva Smilianska, 24, guilty Friday night of reckless vehicular homicide in the July 2023 death of accomplished junior cyclist Magnus White.
The trial began on Monday, March 31, 2025, nearly 20 months after Smilianska drove her car off the road and struck White, who was riding his bike on a highway near his home in Boulder.
Closing statements in the case concluded mid-afternoon Friday, and the jury spent close to seven hours in deliberations. A unanimous decision was reached at 10 p.m. (MDT) with a guilty verdict.
Smilianska will be sentenced on June 13. The penalty for reckless vehicular homicide is two to six years in prison and a fine that could be as much as $500,000.
Smilianska was charged four-and-a-half months following the July 29, 2023, crash by the Longmont Police Department with reckless vehicular homicide. Investigators stated in an affidavit that she fell asleep behind the wheel, while Smilianska had said there was a malfunction of the automobile's steering.
In March 2024, Smilianska rejected a plea deal, and a request to delay the case by her defence attorney was granted. The case was then delayed a second time in December 2024.
Once the trial began, the defence for Smilianska did not debate that she struck and killed White, according to multiple Colorado-based news outlets covering the proceedings. Smilianska's defence argued that she was not driving in a 'reckless' manner and that the collision was an accident because of 'careless' driving, a lesser charge.
White had been training for the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Glasgow, where he planned to represent Team USA in the men's junior cross-country race on August 10.
While on the training ride on Highway 119 on July 29, 2023, White was struck from behind by a car driven by Smilianska. The high school junior died later that evening at a nearby hospital from his injuries.
White won the 2021 men's junior 17-18 US Cyclocross National Championship and competed at the Cyclocross World Championships in 2022 and 2023. The race in Glasgow would have been his first Worlds for mountain bike.
In December 2023 the White family started a non-profit, The White Line, which advocates for safer roads for people riding bicycles, inspiring young children to ride and race. The Magnus White Cyclist Safety Act of 2024 (H.R.10347) has been proposed as national legislation, to require auto manufacturers to implement automatic emergency braking systems that would help protect all vulnerable road users.
The White family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Smilianska in May 2024.
