BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. — Investigators believe a driver fell asleep before hitting and killing 17-year-old National Team cyclist Magnus White in Boulder County in July, according to an arrest affidavit from the Boulder County District Attorney's Office.
Yeva Smilianska, 23, is facing a vehicular homicide charge in connection with the crash. She was arrested Tuesday by the Longmont Police Department.
Investigators said the crash happened around 12:30 p.m. July 29 on southbound Highway 119 just past North 63rd Street. Prosecutors said White was riding south on the paved right shoulder, on the right side of the solid white line, when Smilianska, who was driving a Toyota Matrix, crashed into him.
White, a National Team cyclist, was preparing to compete in the Junior Men’s Mountain Bike Cross-Country World Championships in Scotland the next month and was set to start his senior year of high school in a few weeks.
"White fell in love with cycling at an early age through Boulder Junior Cycling. He was a rising star in the off-road cycling scene, and his passion for cycling was evident through his racing and camaraderie with his teammates and local community," USA Cycling said in July.
White is survived by his parents, his brother Eero "and countless friends worldwide," USA Cycling said.
White's family released a statement in response to the news of the arrest.
"Yeva Smilianska must be held accountable for her willful and conscious actions when she chose to get behind the wheel of her car that day," the family said. "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 – a dark shadow of grief that will hang over them for the remainder of their lives."
The Colorado State Patrol investigated the crash, then turned their findings over to prosecutors. Details about the investigation were revealed in an arrest affidavit written by an investigator with the district attorney's office.
The affidavit says "based on the totality of circumstances, it appears most likely that Smilianska was asleep at the time of the crash."
Investigators came to this conclusion after interviewing Smilianska and people she knew, and by reviewing cell phone data, according to the affidavit. They also interviewed several people who had witnessed the crash or the aftermath, including another bicyclist who was riding behind White. That bicyclist also talked to the suspect on the scene, the affidavit says.
Police found a text Smilianska sent about 20 minutes before the crash. It read, "I'm falling asleep. So I'm going home."
There was no indication that Smilianska was intoxicated, according to the affidavit.
In an interview in December, Smilianska told investigators that while she was driving, her car started to move to the right. She tried to steer back into her lane, but it didn't work, the affidavit says she told investigators. She said that the next thing she remembered, she was off the side of the highway and felt "fuzzy." After she got out of the car, she saw that another person was hurt, the affidavit says. She told investigators she did not recall seeing White before the crash.
Smilianska told investigators the crash was caused by a steering malfunction. A Colorado State Patrol investigator evaluated the car and didn't find any evidence of a malfunction, the affidavit says. Investigators also didn't find any evidence that the driver had braked before the crash.
"Magnus’s death could have been prevented," the family statement said. "It underscores the responsibility of every driver to safely operate their vehicle. Everytime each of us gets into our car, everytime we get on our bikes, everytime we walk on a sidewalk, everytime we walk in a parking lot, we all have an inherent trust that another driver will not strike and kill us. Yeva Smilianska shattered this trust."
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