A fugitive from Ukraine has been charged with vehicular homicide in the death of a rising US cycling star who was knocked down while training for the world championships.
Yeva Smilianska, 23, was driving her Toyota Matrix on Highway 119 from Longmont to Boulder in July when she allegedly struck US Junior Men’s National Team member Magnus White, 17, on the paved right shoulder.
“Based on the overall circumstances, it appears that Smilianska was most likely asleep at the time of the crash,” stated the affidavit quoted by KMGH-TV.
White is training for the Junior Men’s Mountain Bike Cross Country World Championships on Aug. 10 in Glasgow, according to the 20th Judicial District Attorney’s Office.
The motorcyclist, who was wearing a helmet, was taken to Boulder Community Hospital, where he died.
Smilianska, of Westminster, was arrested Tuesday on a charge of vehicular manslaughter, a felony, and is being held in the Boulder County Jail, KMGH reported.
The White family said in a statement that the driver “intentionally and knowingly chose to be behind the wheel of his car, engaging in reckless driving behavior that resulted in the fatal collision of our son Magnus who was struck from behind and ejected from his bicycle.
A 23-year-old fugitive from Ukraine who drove the car that killed a rising US cycling star as he cycled ahead of the world championships in Scotland has been charged with vehicular manslaughter. Getty Images
“As parents, we teach our children about consequences and accountability. We believe in consequences and accountability while Magnus is alive and we hold him to it. Magnus also believes in this,” wrote the grieving family, according to the outlet.
They called for “the maximum punishment for his crimes, not only for his deliberate actions, but also for the deep pain and suffering endured by Magnus’ mother, father, brother, family, friends, teammates and the entire community – the dark shadow of grief that will hang over them for the rest of their lives.”
The family added that they would struggle during Christmas, the teenager’s favorite holiday.
Smilianska asked the witness who stopped if she could leave before police arrived, according to an affidavit cited by KMGH.
Yeva Smilianska, 23, was driving her Toyota Matrix on Highway 119 from Longmont to Boulder in July when she allegedly struck US Junior Men’s National Team member Magnus White, 17, on the paved right shoulder. CBS Colorado
Several drivers said it looked like he didn’t know he had hit someone.
“When I was told I was free to go, (Smilianska) came to ask me what happened. So I gave him, like, a brief explanation … and he said he passed out while driving,” a witness said, according to the affidavit.
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Smilianska told investigators she tried to steer back down the road, but “the next thing she remembers, she was on the side of the freeway and felt ‘blurred,'” according to the affidavit.
An autopsy report found the cause of death to be blunt force trauma to the head and the manner of death to be an accident, the outlet reported.
An inspection found no problems with the vehicle and noted that when traveling above 50 mph, it pulled slightly to the right without “steering input,” according to the affidavit.
Investigators also determined that Smilianska, who said she had not slept well since she fled Ukraine, may have slept less than three hours the night before the crash.
Smilianska is a refugee who fled to escape the war and has been living in Colorado with her partner, her defense said, adding that she has no criminal history.
A judge set personal recognizance bond at $100,000, according to the outlet.
White’s cycling resume contains several accolades, including winning the 17-18 youth national championship in cyclocross in 2021 and earning a spot on the US national team.
He competed with a team in Europe leading up to last year’s cyclocross world championships and was selected to represent the US at this year’s cyclocross Worlds in the Netherlands.
White, who started racing at the national level at the age of 10, is survived by his parents, Michael and Jill, and his brother, Eero.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
