The driver found guilty in the death of cyclist Magnus White could be moved to a halfway house after serving just several months of her four-year sentence in prison.
In April, a jury found Yeva Smilianska guilty of one count of reckless vehicular homicide for striking and killing the up and coming racer on July 29, 2023 in the Boulder, Colorado area.
In Colorado that verdict carries a possible penalty of 2-6 years behind bars, with Smilianska ultimately receiving a four-year sentence, in June.
Now just five months later, the White family has received a letter from the Colorado Department of Corrections stating that she could be transferred from state prison to community corrections.
The letter states “The Victim Services Unit (VSU) has been informed that the above named offender is being referred, according to Colorado Law, for consideration of placement in a community corrections program (halfway house).”
White’s family has always understood that Smilianska would likely not serve the full four years, however the prospect of less than a year of prison time came as a surprise. Smilianska is not eligible for parole until April of 2027, but Colorado law allows an offender, unless convicted of first-degree murder, to apply for community corrections 16 months before parole eligibility. In this case that means December 2025.
Parole is not imminent, but if Smilianska is moved to a halfway house she may also be eligible for release to another program with far less supervision. The same letter goes on to state that “Offenders placed in community corrections may progress to the Intensive Supervision Program (ISP) to be monitored electronically and reside outside of the halfway house.”
Since Magnus White’s death, his family has founded The White Line Foundation, an organization aimed at enacting “a fundamental transformation of our driving culture where careless and reckless behavior becomes unacceptable.” Today Jill and Michael White released the following statement through The White Line Foundation Instagram page.
Our son Magnus was killed by a reckless driver. The judge sentenced her to four years in prison. But last week, we learned she’s already eligible for a halfway house after only three months in a state prison. Everyone in that courtroom heard “four years.” A four-year sentence should mean four years.
Many don’t know that dangerous drivers who kill are eligible for parole in most states after serving less than half of their sentence. This is unacceptable. Families deserve real accountability, not legal fine print that minimizes the death of a child.
These are NOT accidents—they are crashes. Crashes caused not only by a driver’s reckless, negligent choices, but by a system that refuses to treat these deaths seriously.
This is why we’re fighting to change the law. Road violence is rising, and until states treat killing someone with a car as the horrific crime it is, more families will be shattered.
– Jill and Michael White
Source URL: https://velo.outsideonline.com/news/magnus-white-driver-could-be-released-prison-early/