BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — The driver who had admitted to passing out behind the wheel and killing 17-year-old cyclist Magnus White in the summer of 2023, but argued that she had not been driving recklessly, has been found guilty of vehicular homicide - reckless driving.
The Boulder County jury came back with a verdict at around 10 p.m. on Friday after deliberating for around seven hours.
They reached a unanimous decision and found Yeva Smilianska, 24, guilty of the charge instead of the lesser charge of careless driving causing death.
After deliberating for around seven hours on Friday, White's family gathered together in the front row — where they had been during the five-day trial — to hear the verdict.
Sentencing has been scheduled for June 13 at 10 a.m.
"Magnus' death was not an accident, it was a crime."
Moments after the verdict was reached, White's parents stepped outside the courtroom on a chilly, snowy Colorado night to speak about the toll the tragedy has taken on their family.
Watch the full press conference in the player below:
"I think what's hardest for me as his mom, is knowing that in sixth grade he wanted to be a professional cyclist — that on July 29, 2023 — it was going to be his second-to-last training ride before he went on to the world championships in Scotland to race for the U.S.," said Jill White, holding back tears. "It was one of his dreams to finally be selected for the USA National Team for mountain biking. He was on his way to get that dream that he saw for himself in sixth grade."
She said she believed the jury's decision was "the right verdict."
"This conviction is a small step forward for accountability. Whatever sentence this driver receives is not enough. It'll be somewhere between two and six years," Jill said. "She may never spend time, a single day, in prison. This verdict acknowledges what we have known all along. Magnus' death was not an accident — it was a crime."
Magnus' father, Michael White, then addressed the cameras.
"She has shown no remorse, she has taken no responsibility — not until she had to get on the stand in court — 615 days after she killed Magnus," he said. "Magnus had never broken a bone in his life until she broke his pelvis, until she broke his collarbone, until she shattered his skull."
Michael was also critical of the immediate investigation after the crash,
"Make no mistake that driver killed Magnus, but the trial revealed something else — a systemic failure by those whose job it is to protect the public," he said. "Three agencies responded to the crash that day. The city police, the county sheriff, and the state patrol. The agency with jurisdiction arrived last and they were critically understaffed with just one officer controlling the scene. Protocols were not followed when a person — when a child is killed by a driver."
Opening statements in the trial began on Monday morning, with final testimony and closing arguments wrapping up Friday afternoon.
Throughout the trial, Smilianska and her defense team said they do not dispute that she struck and killed White on July 29, 2023, but rather they argued that she did not drive in a reckless manner.
Just about to start his senior year in high school, Magnus, a young and accomplished cyclist, headed out on the afternoon of July 29, 2023 for a training ride for the Junior Mountain Bike World Championships in Scotland. Near Highway 119 and N. 63rd Street in unincorporated Boulder County, he was struck from behind by the driver. He died of his injuries.
The investigation continued for about 20 weeks before the driver, identified as Smilianska, then 23 years old, was arrested in December 2023.
In May 2024, the White family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Smilianska. The family also started a nonprofit called The White Line, which advocates for safer roads and tougher penalties for careless or reckless driving resulting in death, and helps young cyclists compete around the world.
Denver7 covered each of the five trial days in-depth. Learn more about what happened by clicking on the links or watching our coverage below.
Day 1: Opening statements, start of testimonies
Opening statements began on Monday, where prosecutors argued that the defendant "made a choice" and "ignored a substantial risk."
"This is a case where the defendant made a choice — a choice to get behind the wheel when she knew she was tired, when she knew she was falling asleep — and she ignored a substantial risk when she made that choice — she drove straight into Magnus when she hit him," prosecutors said.
The defense argued that this is a case of careless driving, not vehicular homicide by reckless driving.
"Legally, this was an accident," defense attorneys said. "What's described are the elements of careless driving, not vehicular homicide."
On Monday, Magnus' father Michael White was the first to testify. He described who his son was, the kind of person he was growing up to be, and then the day of the crash.
"When I saw him in that condition, I already knew the ending," Michael said of when he arrived at the hospital that day.
Day 2: Testimony from prosecution's witnesses
On the second day of Smilianska's trial on Tuesday, a handful of witnesses tearfully recalled the afternoon they saw the woman swerve off Highway 119, striking and killing 17-year-old cyclist Magnus White.
One driver said he watched her car slowly swerve to the right and then jerk back into the correct lane twice before the crash.
Another driver testified that she saw the car swerve off the road and hit Magnus.
"I just remember she walked around us as a group and then walked down the road, almost to the stoplight, and then circled back," she testified. "But she seemed very calm. There were several of us in the group that were very upset and crying about what happened... But she seemed very collected, I guess is the best way to put it."
Another driver said she saw the crash in her rearview mirror.
"That's when I saw the boy — he was up in the air," the witness said. "It was a couple feet, actually. Maybe 7 feet up in the air."
When describing the defendant, she said she seemed "like a mess at the moment."
"Personally, I felt — the way she was standing there, it didn't feel right," she said. "It just felt very emotionless, like nothing had happened for her."
In several of the cross-examinations, the defense stressed that people react to shock differently.
Two troopers also testified on Tuesday, and confirmed that despite Smilianska telling law enforcement that her car's steering malfunctioned, the car was in working order.
Day 3: Testimony from prosecution's witnesses and defense's witnesses
On the third day of Smilianska's trial on Wednesday, a pro-cyclist detailed the moments before, during and after 17-year-old Magnus White was struck and killed on Highway 119.
The pro-cyclist said he saw the car come up behind White and hit his back wheel, adding that there was no way the teen could have seen the car coming.
Chiapperino said his immediate reaction was to find White's parents or anyone who knew him, so Chiapperino went to White's bike and saw his Boulder Junior Cycling sticker and started making calls. He knew people who could have known the family members.
Magnus' parents cried during this testimony.
The court also heard from several law enforcement witnesses who testified about Smilianska's phone records and the teen's injuries following the crash.
Smilianska did not brake or swerve before or after hitting Magnus as the woman "was not awake at the time of the collision," crash reconstruction expert Michael Stogsdill said, adding he concluded Smilianska "drove recklessly that day and that's what led to Magnus being killed."
Sarah Urfer, expert witness in forensic psychology, explained to the court how long it takes for certain alcohol to clear from a person's system, and how it can make somebody feel drowsy. She testified that she did not believe Smilianska was driving under the influence at 12:30 p.m. on July 29, 2023.
Day 4: Testimony from the defendant and her friend
On the afternoon of the fourth day of a trial, the defendant took the stand, where she said she "completely turned off" at the scene. The court also heard from her friend at the time, Nereida "Neddy" Cooper, whom she had been drinking with the morning of the crash at the friend's house.
"She was not blackout drunk, not even remotely close to being drunk," Cooper said in court of Smilianska. "We weren't stumbling. She wasn't slurring her words. She was able to communicate and take care of herself."
She remembered that Smilianska looked "very tired" when they woke up a few hours after going to sleep at her house. Cooper left for work.
At 12:11 p.m., Smilianska texted Cooper, saying, "I'm falling asleep so I'm going home." The crash happened about 20 minutes later.
"She killed a boy," Cooper said Thursday morning, choking up on the stand. "I can't fathom being in her position and I don't want anything to do with it, I guess."
The prosecution then rested their case.
The defense brought in a Colorado State Patrol trooper — who is also an expert in crash reconstruction — who said he stands by the opinion that this is a case of careless driving, and not vehicular homicide by reckless driving. He said he was "not privy to all of the further investigation" that happened after October 2023, when his involvement in the case ended.
After this, Smilianska was brought up to the stand. She recalled closing up the bar, where both she and Cooper worked.
She said they drank at the house and sang karaoke. She took medication before she went to sleep, as she had for the last few months. She did not recall the medication ever making her sleepy.
Smilianska said she remembered sending the text to Cooper letting her know she was heading home because she was tired.
"The last thing I remember, I am holding the wheel and the next thing I remember is my car is downhill and it hits the fencing," she said through the interpreter.
When asked about her reaction after she saw Magnus, she replied, "I completely turned off," and later added, "I closed up, I turned off, because otherwise it was completely impossible to process."
Day 5: Final testimonies and closing arguments
On Friday morning, Smilianska's testimony concluded. She told the court that she felt tired that morning, but felt "certain" that she was able to drive in her condition. The prosecutor asked if she started nodding off on Highway 119, which Smilianska confirmed.
As she had testified the day prior, Smilianska said she had told another cyclist at the scene that she thought she had passed out, but told law enforcement that she thought her car's steering had malfunctioned. She reiterated the latter in a statement taken at the scene. She admitted in court Friday that she had been untruthful in that instance.
"Was it simply hard for you to accept that something you could control caused a life to be taken?" the defense attorney asked.
"I can't even describe how hard," Smilianska replied.
The final witness in this trial was another crash reconstruction expert, who said he had come to the conclusion that Smilianska was not impaired at the time of the crash.
During a cross-examination with the district attorney, the expert testified that he believes law enforcement conducted a good, thorough investigation, but stopped short of saying there was nothing missing from the on-scene response. You can always nit-pick, he added.
Closing arguments began after the lunch break, where prosecutors pressed the jury to find Smilianska guilty of the vehicular homicide - reckless driving charge, and the defense argued that the jury should instead find her guilty of the lesser charge of careless driving resulting in death.
"Her behavior, her conduct, was reckless," a prosecutor said. "We have reckless behavior, we have reckless driving... She consciously disregarded the substantial risk to get behind the wheel that day."
"We confessed from the very beginning — this is a case about being tired," the defense argued. "Being tired is not reckless driving."
In a rebuttal, the district attorney stressed that Smilianska had laid out a warning for herself and not listened to it.
“Don’t take my words for it," he said, and then quoted Smilianska's text to Cooper about 20 minutes before the crash. "Take her words for it: 'I'm falling asleep.'"