After nearly four hours of testimony and proceedings, the driver who struck and killed 17-year-old cyclist Magnus White in 2023 was sentenced to four years in state prison plus three years of mandatory parole.
In the Boulder County Court in Colorado, Yeva Smilianska, 24, was sentenced for the charge of vehicular homicide and reckless driving, which has a maximum penalty of six years imprisonment, plus fines.
Judge Dea Lindsey acknowledged the emotional weight and complexity of the case but ultimately declined to impose the maximum sentence sought by prosecutors.
"I know that it doesn't do what the family wanted this court to do. But I want you to know, I believe that my decision is right under the authority I have," she stated, citing Smilianska clean criminal record and the belief that she does not pose an ongoing risk to the public.
White was was a member of the U.S. national cycling team. He was killed while on a training ride in July 2023, ahead of the UCI World Championships held in Scotland where he was set to compete. He was about 15 minutes from home.
The sentencing followed Smilianska’s conviction in April 2025 after a five-day jury trial. The trial did not dispute that she caused White’s death but rather, whether Smilianska’s driving constituted recklessness instead of the lesser charge of careless driving causing death.
Smilianska had initially pleaded not guilty in May 2024, claiming her car had malfunctioned. However, investigators found no mechanical defects and concluded that she had likely fallen asleep at the wheel. After seven hours of deliberation, the jury unanimously found Smilianska guilty, determining that she had made a conscious and dangerous choice to drive while impaired and fatigued.
During Friday’s sentencing, prosecuting attorney Michael Dougherty urged the court to impose the maximum penalty, citing public safety and the need for deterrence.
“This is not the first vehicular homicide sentencing I’ve stood before the court on. These cannot continue in this way. The deterrent value here is significant,” Dougherty said.
He argued that the case spoke to broader concerns about the safety of cyclists and pedestrians. “The [impact statements from the community] highlight a need for this when we think of cyclists and pedestrians and vulnerable road users who are being crashed into and killed on an all-too-regular basis. And to promote acceptance, responsibility and accountability.”
A central theme during the testimonies was Smilianska’s apparent lack of remorse and disconnect from the incident. Prosecutors, as well as White’s parents, pointed to her flat demeanor, social media activity during the trial as well as ongoing drug use and apparent absence of accountability.
“This sentencing hearing is far more difficult today if the defendant had expressed responsibility or remorse,” Dougherty told the court. “Instead, before the incident, immediately following the crash and every day since, the defendant has shown no care and no concern.”
He argued that the sentence should reflect Smilianska’s “complete failure to accept responsibility and express any genuine remorse.”
The profound sense of loss caused by White’s death was made clear through emotional victim impact statements from friends and family, who described him as a promising cyclist, a straight-A student and a beloved member of the community.
But beyond personal grief, the statements highlighted the wider ripple effect White's death has had, felt by the entire cycling community as fears about road safety for vulnerable users intensified.
“Every car that now passes me is a potential weapon,” said Riley Cahill, a friend and riding partner of White. “If Magnus couldn’t find a way to stay safe on the roads, then how can I?”
Cahill even warned that White’s death is deterring a new generation of athletes: “Parents no longer want their children anywhere near the roads, effectively diverting the next great American cyclists away from riding.”
During its turn, the defense sought to demonstrate Smilianka's remorse with testimony from friends who painted her life as one filled with hardship.
A native of Ukraine, Smilianska endured a difficult childhood and was forced to leave her home at the start of the war. She struggled with mental health challenges while trying to rebuild her life in the United States. One character witness testified that Smilianska became suicidal upon learning of White’s death, but said her time in jail gave her a new perspective and gratitude for life.
“Her life has been a sequence of sorrow, bad luck as well as some bad choices,” said Sofia Drobinskaya, a close friend of Smilianska's. She added that while Smilianska may not outwardly show it, "she is very remorseful. She's very deeply sorry for what happened.”
Defense attorney Benjamin Hartford also addressed Smilianska’s apparent uncaring courtroom demeanor, attributing it to the medications she takes for PTSD and bipolar disorder.
“These medications are mood stabilizers and one of the effects of these medications is to present with a flat affect," he stated. "This doesn't mean she's an unfeeling person, it doesn't mean she doesn't feel emotions, just that these drugs mute those feelings.”
With the help of a translator, Smilianska also addressed the court herself, stating “I can't express with words that I have, how much I would like to go back to these decisions I've made and what has brought me here today. But to my biggest sorrow, I cannot do it."
Before deliberations, the defense asked the judge to consider a probationary sentence, citing a series of comparable cases. In each, the defendant, like Smilianska, had no prior criminal record and, consequently, none received the maximum penalty.
The sentencing marks the end of the White family’s nearly two-year pursuit of criminal accountability for their son.
"This sentence is 2 years short of the maximum sentence permitted by the law for the charge of vehicular homicide in Colorado. This is not justice. And this sentence will never begin to fill the enormous void left by Magnus’ absence," the White family write on social media after the sentencing. "No parent should ever have to hold their child’s helmet instead of their child."
