After nearly five months of investigation by the Colorado State Patrol, the driver of a fatal crash that killed 17-year-old cyclist Magnus White has been charged with the felony of vehicular homicide.
According to the Boulder County District Attorney’s Office, 23-year-old Yeva Smilianska was arrested by the Longmont Police Department on Tuesday, Dec. 12, and transported to the Boulder County Jail. Using a Russian speaking interpreter, Smilianska appeared in court on Dec. 13 for the first time regarding the case.
“The life of Magnus White was cut tragically short, District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a news release. “His death is devastating for his family, friends, and the cycling community. Our office is committed to fighting for the right outcome.”
Smilianska has been in Colorado for a year since fleeing Ukraine. According to the district court judge, she is married and has been working for eight months, despite the looming charges, and is not a flight risk. Her bond was set at $100,000, more than what was asked for by the prosecution. The judge ordered her to surrender her passport and be under supervision until her next court date, as well as to “not drive. Period.”
On July 29, Magnus White was heading home on the Diagonal Highway from a final training bike ride before the UCI World Cycling Championships in Ireland. Smilianska, who was driving a Toyota Matrix, had been seen swerving out of the lane a few times before the collision with White, according to a bystander quoted in the arrest affidavit obtained by Boulder Reporting Lab.
According to the affidavit, one witness described seeing the vehicle make an abrupt right turn, traveling in what was described as a “beeline” straight towards White. Another witness said the turn was so abrupt it looked like a child had yanked on the steering wheel, though there was no one else in the car.
A cyclist who had been only about 20 feet behind White at the time of the accident spoke to Smilianska, who allegedly told him she had fallen asleep.
“She came over to ask me what happened. So I gave her a brief explanation, um, and she said she passed out at the wheel,” the cyclist told the police, according to the affadavit. In her official report to police, by contrast, Smilianska said her car suddenly lost control, likening it to what might happen when driving on snow.
In an interview with police, she said that since the war in Ukraine she had not been sleeping well, and phone records accessed by the investigator show that she had texted a friend 20 minutes earlier to say she was falling asleep and heading home. Additional texts came in minutes before the crash, but it’s unclear when she read them, according to the affidavit.
“Officers on scene did not observe indicia of drug or alcohol usage to explain Smilianska’s behavior. The drive test performed by CSP [Colorado State Patrol] indicates that, though Smilianska’s vehicle does pull to the right, there was no evidence of a steering malfunction,” the affidavit said. “Based on the totality of circumstances, it appears most likely that Smilianska was asleep at the time of the crash.”
Highway 119 from Boulder to Longmont has the second-highest number of bike crashes on any road in unincorporated Boulder County, behind US 36 between Boulder and Lyons, according to county data. The high speed of vehicle traffic, 55 miles per hour, mixed with an unprotected shoulder is a dangerous combination. The county has been designing a 12-foot-wide concrete bike path down the center of the highway from Boulder to Longmont but it’s years away from completion.
“Yeva Smilianska willfully and consciously chose to get behind the wheel of her car, engaging in reckless driving behavior that resulted in the fatal collision into our son Magnus,” the White family said in a statement released about the charges.
“Every time each of us gets into our car, every time we get on our bikes, every time we walk on a sidewalk, every time we walk in a parking lot, we all have an inherent trust that another driver will not strike and kill us,” the family continued. “Yeva Smilianska shattered this trust.”
Smilianska will return to court on Friday, Dec. 15 to hear the official charges against her. Vehicular homicide by reckless driving is considered a class 4 felony, with a sentence of two to six years in prison and/or a $2,000 to $500,000 fine.
“It is essential Yeva Smilianska be given the maximum penalty for her crime, not only for her willful actions, but also for the profound pain and suffering endured by Magnus’s mother, father, brother, family, friends, teammates and entire community,” said the White family’s statement.
The White family launched a nonprofit, the White Line, this month that is just beginning its work with partners to push for safer bike infrastructure and inspire young cyclists. They are working on a film series called Lives Worth Remembering about four different fallen riders, starting with Magnus.
Just hope Daugherty does not offer a plea agreement, so many cycling deaths in Boulder County result in zero justice for the cyclist and their family,