Woman accused of driving into cyclist Magnus White in 2023 fell asleep at the wheel after staying up all night

Yeva Smilianska stayed out all night with her friends on July 28, 2023. Cell phone videos show her singing karaoke and drinking up until 6:05 a.m. She slept for a few hours, then woke up at 9 a.m., searching Google on her phone and sending text messages.

At 12:11 p.m. on July 29, as Smilianska was driving toward Highway 119, she texted her friend to tell her that she was falling asleep but was going to go home. Minutes later, Smilianska drove into 17-year-old Magnus White, a rising star in the cycling world.

At 12:28 p.m. White was dead.

Michael White, Magnus’ father, took the stand on Monday afternoon as the first witness in the trial for Smilianska, who is accused of vehicular homicide in the crash.

“He always wore what's called a loop band, which tracks a lot of things, and I'm wearing it — his band —  today.  And it showed when his heart rate just stopped at 12:28 in the app,” White testified.

Smilianska, a 24-year-old Ukrainian immigrant, listened to opening statements through a translator in the Boulder courtroom on Monday. 

Magnus’ parents, Jill and Michael, sat in the front row. Other family members and their supporters filled half of the courtroom.  

Once a jury was seated, prosecutors argued that Smilianska’s lack of sleep caused her to swerve in the road, eventually striking Magnus while he was on a 75-mile training ride. They told the jury that she had been drinking and singing with friends the night before and didn’t fall asleep until 6:05 a.m. the next day, although drinking is not considered a factor in the case.  

“The defendant knew she was exhausted, and she sends a text message and she tells friends Nettie [Cooper], 'I'm falling asleep, but I'm gonna go home,'” said prosecutor Patricia Mittlestadt.

According to the arrest affidavit,  Smilianska told investigators that a steering malfunction caused her to go off the road. Mittlestadt told the jury Smilianska made no effort to avoid hitting White and showed no remorse for what happened. 

“She took no steps to avoid hitting him. She drove straight through Magnus and her car kept going. She did not brake, she did not swerve. She kept going until she ended in the field when she hit a fence,” Mittlestadt said. “She had no idea what had happened because she was passed out behind the wheel of her car.”

In his opening, defense attorney Timur Kishinevsky didn’t dispute the facts of the case — that his client fell asleep behind the wheel and killed White. But he argued that Smilianska should not be charged with vehicular homicide and that it is a case of careless driving.  

“Ms. Smilianska drove her motor vehicle in a careless and imprudent manner without due regard for the width, grade, curves, corners, traffic, and use of the streets and highways and all other attendant circumstances,” said Kishinevsky. “What I have described to you just now is the elements of careless driving. That is precisely what she is guilty of.” 

Michael White was emotional and sometimes tearful as he testified on Monday. He said that Magnus started racing at 9 years old, and that his son’s training required more mileage and higher speeds with a higher competition level. He said Magnus had been training on Highway 119 — called the Diagonal — since he was 13.

“I would obviously ride with him, show him, teach him the rules of the road, especially at intersections, you know, to when the light turns green, always wait a little bit because you don't know who's going to run a red light,” Michael White said.

He said that he considered the Diagonal to be a safe place to ride because of its 10-foot shoulder.
“Specifically that section of the Diagonal, from 63rd to Jay Road, that's the way back to town for many cycling routes. It's a 2-mile section,” he said.

Magnus Whitecompeted on the national and international levels. He won the 2021 Junior 17-18 Cyclocross National Championship and was a member of the USA Cycling National Team. Magnus White had been training for the 2023 World Mountain Bike Championship in Scotland when the accident occurred. He was wearing a Team USA kit at the time of his death.

Michael White testified that he bought breakfast burritos for Magnus on the morning of his death. He went for a short bike ride himself before showering and washing his car. Michael White told the jury that he had gotten a call from the hospital but thought it was a bill collection.

He didn’t realize that something was wrong until he looked at a phone app and saw Magnus located in the hospital. When White texted him to see if he was OK, he didn’t get a response. He returned the hospital’s message and immediately went there.

After the prosecution was done questioning Michael White, the defense expressed condolences and had no questions on cross-examination. 

During the trial, the jury is expected to hear testimony from Colorado State Trooper Sean McCall, who investigated the accident. He found that Smilianska’s vehicle didn’t have a steering malfunction after driving it and sending it to a local mechanic for examination.

The trial will continue Tuesday morning.