Editor’s note: The jury delivered its verdict Friday night after the Daily Camera’s deadline for print. Coverage continued online. The Camera’s updated story follows below.

A Boulder County jury found a woman guilty of reckless vehicular homicide Friday night for fatally hitting a 17-year-old cyclist with her car in July 2023.

Yeva Smilianska, 24, was convicted for the death of Magnus White, a USA Cycling junior cyclist.

Based on the crime, she faces a presumptive sentence of two to six years in prison, but this sentence is probation eligible, according to District Attorney Michael Dougherty. She’s set to be sentenced June 13 and remains out of custody until then.

‘He was our boy, our beautiful, beautiful boy’

Following the verdict, White’s parents spoke outside the 20th Judicial District courthouse at 1777 Sixth St. in Boulder.

“We want to start with Magnus because it was his life that was stolen. He was our boy, our beautiful, beautiful boy and brother,” White’s mother, Jill, said at the press conference.

Jill White said she would often rub her son’s feet each night, something she did when she last saw him before he died. “He was a leader on the bike, he was a leader off the bike. So many of his friends looked up to him and considered him a best friend,” Jill White said.During the press conference, the Whites criticized the agencies that responded to the crash, including the lead agency, Colorado State Patrol.

“Make no mistake, that driver killed Magnus, but the trial revealed something else: the systemic failure by those whose job it is to protect the public,” Michael White, father of Magnus White, said.

Michael White said CSP was understaffed, protocols were not followed and Smilianska was never drug tested but his son was.

He added: “A state trooper visited us at the hospital later that day as we held onto the last moments of our son’s life. We thought she would tell us they were investigating the driver who killed our son, and instead, we were told the driver did everything right. It was incredibly hurtful and left us wondering if Magnus’ death was even being taken seriously.”

The Daily Camera will reach out to CSP regarding White’s claim.

‘Magnus’ death was not a accident, it was a crime’

During the conference, Michael White said cocaine could be seen in admitted evidence that was later redacted. The jury also did not have access to text conversations that the defendant had with another person the day of the crash about buying cocaine.

According to White, mentions of cocaine were never allowed to be considered by the jury. It was not clear from the court proceedings that Smilianska was under the influence of cocaine or had the drug in her possession at the time of the crash.

“Magnus’ death was not a accident, it was a crime,” Michael White said.

“Please continue to walk with us and speak Magnus’ name and stand with every family whose loved one was stolen from them by a reckless or careless driver,” Michael White said, tearing up. “We’ll never stop missing our Magnus, and we will never stop fighting for him.”

Magnus White’s parents founded a nonprofit in their son’s honor called the “The White Line.” It was founded “to preserve, honor, and use the legacy of U.S. National Team Member and U.S. National Champion Magnus White to inspire cyclists globally, to support their development, to raise awareness of bicycle and automobile safety and create change for safer cycling environments,” according to a news release.

‘That ‘shutdown’ — that wasn’t seeing Magnus, that was her exhaustion’

Earlier on Friday, Deputy District Attorney Trish Mittelstadt walked jury members through the evidence before asking them to find Smilianska guilty of reckless vehicular homicide.

“On July 29, 2023, the defendant recklessly drove her car, smashing into the back of Magnus White’s bicycle, killing him. The defendant stayed up all night, drinking with the friend and got little sleep before deciding to get on 119,” Mittelstadt said.

Mittelstadt said Smilianska consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk.

“She swerves two times, and then on the last time, she crashes right into the back of him, sending him flying in the air,” Mittelstadt said.

She continued: “This is not dozing off behind the wheel — this is passing out because when you doze off and you hit a bicyclist and they crash into your car, you wake up.”

Mittelstadt also noted multiple witnesses testified that Smilianska’s demeanor was odd following the crash.

“Her demeanor didn’t change from when she got out of the car to when she walked over,” Mittelstadt said. “That ‘shutdown’ — that wasn’t seeing Magnus, that was her exhaustion.”

In the defense’s closing arguments, defense attorney Timur Kishinevsky said Smilianska is entitled to who she is.

“We’re not all the same — some people can take grief and shock differently,” Kishinevsky said.

In rebuttal, prosecutor and District Attorney Michael Dougherty noted the witnesses’ testimony about trying to help White on the scene.

“It’s in the face of tragedy, it’s in the face of death, it’s in the face of unspeakable loss that people do the right thing,” Dougherty said. “And while that’s happening, the defendant is asking to leave and is showing no remorse.”

Despite the noticed odd behavior, six law enforcement officers did not see signs of intoxication, according to the court proceedings. Mittelstadt said Smilianska was “exhausted and hungover” the morning of the crash but made clear that this is not a DUI case.

In the defense’s closing arguments, Kishinevsky said out of four crash reconstructionists, three of them suggested the charge of careless driving resulting in death — the charge the defense was seeking with a lesser punishment. Kishinevsky said the only crash reconstructionist who did not sign off on or suggest that charge was a private investigator who was chosen by the prosecution.

“They needed more information, more ammunition to inflate the crash, but careless driving didn’t satisfy them,” Kishinevsky said.

In rebuttal, Dougherty argued that only the DA’s private investigator had all the evidence in the case.

‘Put herself in a complete state of exhaustion’

On rebuttal to the defense’s closing statements, Dougherty brought out White’s bike he was riding the day of the crash and placed it in front of the jury. Then he showed photos of White on the court monitors.

“What made Magnus White so special was not how good of a cyclist he was — it was the light inside of him that you see in his eyes in this photo,” Dougherty said, adding: “(And it’s that light) we’ll never see again in this world because she killed him.”

Dougherty then displayed quotes from the jurors from the jury selection portion of the court proceedings about what someone who is exhausted and wanting to drive should do, including rolling the windows down, playing loud music, pulling over and sleeping, calling a friend or calling an Uber.

“Making choices to put herself in a complete state of exhaustion — that is why we are here, and that’s why Magnus is dead,” Dougherty said.

Dougherty also emphasized that Smilianska didn’t wake up to the impact of White hitting her windshield or her driving into the embankment.

“Think about the last time a pebble hit your window, that sound. Now think about Magnus’ head and helmet smashing into her window, and she missed the whole thing,” Dougherty said.

Dougherty then asked the jury to find Smilianska guilty of reckless vehicular homicide for a final time.

“He was 17 years old. There are times in this world where young people die. That’s a tragedy,” Dougherty said. “There are times in this world where a person kills a kid, and that’s a crime. That’s why we’re here.”

‘I was tired but I was certain I was able to drive in the condition I was that morning’

Before closing arguments, the jury heard the end of Smilianska’s testimony, in which she confirmed that she left her then-friend Neddy Cooper’s home at the same time as her. The defendant also testified that Cooper never offered for Smilianska to stay there, which is the opposite of what Cooper testified.

Smilianska also testified that she’s a light sleeper but did not wake up when White hit her windshield.

“I was tired but I was certain I was able to drive in the condition I was that morning,” Smilianska said through an interpreter.

In cross-examination, prosecutors also introduced evidence showing Smilianska taking her tumbler — that she previously drank whiskey from hours earlier — with her when she left the scene after the crash.

When defense showed a photo of Smilianska’s car showing no whiskey tumbler, Dougherty made the point that the photo was taken after Smilianska took personal items out of the car.

Smilianska’s defense asked her if it was difficult for her to accept that she caused White’s death.

“Was it simply hard for you to accept that something you could control could cause a life to be taken?” Kishinevsky asked.

“I can’t even describe how hard,” Smilianska responded.

White was riding his bike southbound on Colo. 119, just south of the 63rd Street intersection at 12:33 p.m. July 29, 2023, when he was hit by Smilianska, who was driving a Toyota Matrix that had crossed from the righthand lane into the shoulder, according to Colorado State Patrol Trooper Gabriel Moltrer.

White was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators said in an arrest affidavit that “based on the totality of circumstances, it appears most likely that Smilianska was asleep at the time of the crash.”

In May 2024, White’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Smilianska. According to court documents, the civil action is stayed, pending the conclusion of Smilianska’s criminal matter.