This is a post no father, ever in his lifetime, imagines he would write about his son. But this is my new reality, being the father to Magnus’ legacy…and it’s fucking awful. I just miss my son.
Thanks to the efforts from many individuals and groups who reached out, we are able today to launch the foundation for Magnus called: THE WHITE LINE. thewhiteline.org, link is in bio. Go to the site, learn about our initiatives and follow @thewhiteline.foundation .
Because of the generous donations we received from Magnus’s GoFundMe, we are able to launch the foundation with funds. THE WHITE LINE is more than a tribute; it's a commitment to fostering a community where cyclists can pursue their passion safely, with the spirit of Magnus as our guiding light. We invite everyone to join us in celebrating life, inspiration, and the joy of cycling. We hope to partner with organizations outside of cycling to help make our roads safer for all users. We are taking donations immediately.
Our Mission:
No more excuses, no more preventable deaths.
Protecting road users outside of cars won’t come from infrastructure alone. We’re fighting for accountability, tougher laws, and smarter tech to stop crashes before they happen. Your voice and your story are the most powerful tools for change. Together, we can end road deaths by 2035.
Watch the teaser for the first film in the series ‘Lives Worth Remembering’, one of our initiatives. Watch here or link in bio.
Forever grateful to:
Matt Trappe @trappephoto
Matt Corliss @matical
Brendan Hemp and Terry Hogan at Heavylifting.Design
Dan Blake @dblake2 and UI Charitable Advisors
Noah Van Putten at Cyclocross Social @cyclocrosss
Magnus, I love you.
#rideformagnus
#rideformaggie
A thousand days.
You’ve been gone a thousand days now.
1000 days. 1 day. It doesn’t matter. We're still here. And you’re still dead.
1000 sunrises, like it always does.
1000 mornings where I awake knowing I have to live another day in a world that exists without you.
1000 days of asking, what was all of it like Magnus? Did you know?
1000 days of I’m sorrys. I’m sorry Magnus I couldn’t save you. I saved you before. I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you that day.
1000 days of silence.
1000 days of forever.
1000 days of hours that need filling.
1000 days of wishing this was all a nightmare.
1000 days of learning what it means to live in the aftermath.
1000 days of it still feels like yesterday, but it’s different today.
1000 days of trying to be your brother’s dad too.
1000 days of reality, that you’re never coming home.
1000 days of waiting for night to come, to end the pain of each day.
1000 days lying in bed whispering, Goodnight Magnus, wondering if you hear me.
A thousand days Magnus, and your electric toothbrush still holds its charge.
#rideformagnus
I was on the fence about posting about this. But every time we've chosen to let people witness what comes after the headlines, it was so people could see what this system actually does to families. So here it is.
Last week we received an email from the Colorado Attorney General's office. It was a notification. A notification that the person who killed Magnus, found guilty by a jury, is appealing their vehicular homicide conviction to have it overturned. Appealing a felony conviction is common, we're told. But this is not automatic. This decision is made by the individual.
I can’t help but just laugh. Like, are you fucking serious? You kill my son. You lie about it for two years, then claim you are now the victim and want your conviction overturned and a new trial? Get the fuck out of here.
The appeals process is public. It can take up to a year. It’s separate from the community corrections process. It’s separate from the parole process. It just never ends.
Magnus, I’m so sorry.
A thousand times.
I’m so sorry.
#rideformagnus
Magnus, these are not the type of anniversaries you celebrate, or even want to remember. One year ago, it was a Friday night at 10pm. The person who stole your life was found guilty by a jury trial. I can’t believe it’s been a year. Time moves fast.
I don’t think there are words that exist to describe that week. A living hell? Every parent’s worst nightmare? The unimaginable?
All cliche and no combination of letters and words can capture what it was like. That week, it wasn’t about you. It was about the life and the choices of the person who stole your life. And we had to sit there in silence and listen to all of it. All we wanted was the truth to come out, and we know not all of it came out that week. And still, even after being found guilty, no longer innocent until proven guilty. Guilty, and this person was allowed to walk out of that courtroom.
It would be another 2 ½ months before this person would begin serving their sentence. And that was the furthest thing from certain. And as we’d learn everything that’s happened in the past few months M, this criminal process, it seems it will never end for your mom and dad.
You were 17. We had done a lot of the “parenting” already. By the time a child is 18, a parent will have spent 93% of their time with that child for the rest of their life. That life I was looking forward to, of cheering you on, watching you grow into a man and everything that comes with it, supporting your dreams, our complete family…that life, forever stolen too.
I don’t know what the endgame for me is in all of this M. I don’t know what tomorrow will look like. I don’t know what another year will look like. I’ve got a lot of tattoos since all of this began, I never had any before. I enjoy getting them. Pain therapy I call it. There’s something about that kind of pain and permanence. Maybe it’s reflecting the smallest bit of what’s happening on the inside. And well, it’s permanent at least until it’s my turn. I got this tattoo sometime in that first year. It helps, “Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”
Magnus, I’m sorry honey…for all of this.
#rideformagnus
Magnus, I wore a pair of your socks on the very first court appearance for the person who stole your life. I don’t know why. I just did. Then I did it again on the second court appearance. Then the third. Then it just became a thing. All those dozens of court dates. Then everyday of the trial and sentencing.
Then I started wearing them on trips to Washington DC. Anytime we met with a representative or a senator, walking all those long echo-y halls of the capitol office buildings. I wear them at the state capitol. I wear them when I have to testify in committees. I wear them when there’s a vote. Then it became anytime we had an important meeting…with anyone.
Sometimes I wear your same socks multiple times and now they live in my sock drawer. Sometimes I go into your room and grab a pair out of your sock drawer that you were the last to wear. Those fresh ones, the ones that still hold the shape of your feet, it’s hard to describe, but it feels like I’m stepping into you. I wear them and there’s this delicate nature to them, like I’m stepping into something sacred.
Magnus, we’re back in DC this week in meetings to decide if your national bill moves forward or if it stalls and dies…and I’m wearing your socks.
#rideformagnus
The day my 17-year-old son Magnus was killed, the only person tested for drugs and alcohol was Magnus, the victim.
Colorado SB26-132, Magnus' Law, has been introduced in his name.
The individual who killed Magnus passed out behind the wheel. Witnesses saw this person swerving multiple times before hitting him. They never braked. Never once. This individual did not wake up when they hit Magnus. They woke up when their car hit a fence 300 feet into a field. Witnesses and law enforcement both said this individual's behavior was odd. Strange. Off. This individual lied to police and blamed the car's steering. This individual told police at the scene that they were drinking and taking prescriptions, but lied about when and how much. No impairment test given. No impairment test was offered. No one even asked.
For 20 months, that was the narrative. Car malfunction. No drugs or alcohol suspected.
Then the truth came out at trial. This person stayed up all night, drank whiskey into the morning, took multiple prescriptions with warning labels that say do not drive, and very likely used cocaine, all captured on video they recorded on their own phone. It took nearly two years to say that in a courtroom because no one asked a single question at the scene.
Magnus' Law requires law enforcement to offer a preliminary breath test to any individual involved in a collision resulting in death or serious bodily injury. It applies to any fatal or serious injury crash on Colorado roads, cyclist, pedestrian, or another driver. This bill respects driver's rights and aligns fully with constitutional and due process standards. Individuals can still refuse. It strengthens crash scene investigations, gives officers clear constitutional guidance, and closes a gap that has left too many families waiting months or years for answers that should have started on day one.
Too many things broke that day. Too many things failed Magnus that day. This bill is our way of fixing one of them. This bill is long overdue. We are doing this for Magnus, and for every family that comes after ours. If it passes here in Colorado, this is the blueprint we will take state by state.
#rideformagnus
Since Magnus' death, we have given an untold number of media interviews. We were silent for 4 ½ months after that day. People spoke for us and for Magnus. We weren't ready. And truthfully we won't ever be ready, but we do it now anyways.
We didn't speak to a single outlet until the individual responsible for Magnus' death was charged with his killing. We are grateful to every journalist and media outlet who has continued to tell our son’s story.
A week or two before sentencing, we sat down with Karin Morfitt and CBS News Colorado. Newsrooms are busy. Airtime is precious. Most stories run 1 to 3 minutes. That's the reality. This one was 7 minutes. And it captured where we were in that moment. Not only in our grief, but the work in our son’s name.
It captured what we were doing throughout the summer and into the fall and winter of 2025 getting ready for the 2026 session.
And it's here. We have sat down with so many elected officials. We have told them Magnus’ story, what went wrong, what's broken, and how it can be fixed. Hundreds of times. The next few months will prove if they actually care about victims and their families and about saving lives. It will show if Magnus' death can make any significant change. Or whether he died for nothing.
At the national level, Magnus' bill has cleared a significant hurdle and is moving to full committee shortly. It's a hard fight to navigate DC. There are so many external factors at play that we have no control of.
At the state level we will be pushing 4 pieces of legislation. Those are all coming in the next few weeks.
We need you. We need your voice. We need your presence. Please follow @thewhiteline.foundation so you know exactly when and how to show up. Please donate if you are able. This fight is expensive and it does not happen without you.
#rideformagnus
Magnus, you never knew loss and I’m not sure how I feel about that. You were first to die in our family. All your cousins. All your grandparents. Everyone. Is alive.
Yes, you experienced the sudden loss of your dog Oslo. That was so hard for me to watch. But I also knew that was a part of life, a part of growing up. Watching you and your brother, crying, comforting your boy. I was sad and crying too. But I was proud of you two boys.
You told me after we left him, “I’ll never forget it, when the nurse injected him with the medication, he got up, one last time, and he looked right at me with wide eyes, like he knew. Then he laid down and he went to sleep.”
Your brother knows loss though. And he’ll carry that unimaginable weight, the rest of his life. A life without his older brother. And I imagine different scenarios. What if it was your brother that died Magnus? How would you have handled it? How would have handled it if Eero was the one that died? How would you have handled it if I died? Or your mom died?
I guess I’m grateful that you will never have to live through what we’re living through.
#rideformagnus
The individual who is responsible for Magnus’ death will remain in prison for the time being.
Because this individual was committing other felony crimes before, during, and after this individual killed Magnus.
#rideformagnus
#driveformagnus
@govofco@costatepatrol
After more than 140 meetings with members of congress in DC, Magnus' national bill, now named H.R. 7353, The Magnus White and Safe Streets for Everyone Act of 2026 has made the markup for the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Act.
Over 1500 pieces of legislation were proposed for the Act, which comes up for renewal every 5 years. And Magnus' bill made it through.
We'll be in DC next week for this committee hearing. Let's hope this committee keeps the intent of the bill intact. Keep writing those letters. They're needed now more than ever.
Love you Magnus and we'll keep fighting for you forever.
- Mom and Dad
#rideformagnus
#driveformagnus
Magnus, the world moves on.
It's 2 ½ years today. And yeah, after 2 ½ years, the grief is different. It's not that just pure raw pain that was there Every. Single. Second.
It’s still there though M, sitting just below the surface. And it still hits hard at least once every day. Like this photo that popped up in the photo stream. You and your boy Oslo, forever asleep together.
Day 1. Day 915. The hurt is all the same. It’s always there. We’ve just learned how to wear it.
Magnus, people still hold you in their hearts and thoughts, they always will. But there's not much of anything else now. A like on a post replaces checking in. A heart emoji replaces being present.
Maybe they think enough time has passed. Maybe they think we've moved on too. Maybe it’s just too painful for them to face the reality that we’re facing. People have their own lives to live, their own problems to solve. And I understand that. I do. But it doesn't make that silence any easier.
Friends have disappeared. Family has disappeared. The ones who I thought would be there, the ones I thought I could count on, they're no longer there.
They don't know what to say, so they say nothing.
And nothing, when it stretches out long enough, becomes distance. Distance then becomes absence. Now I look around and realize they've completely vanished out of our lives.
But the one thing I didn’t expect? New friends appear. People we barely knew. People we didn’t know. People who’ve walked this path before us. People who are walking this path after us.
They become the ones who show up. They are the ones that step forward, when others step back. They are the ones willing to share the reality of such an awful tragedy.
They don't have the perfect words either, but they have presence. They send McDonalds french fries. They grab coffee. They send texts just because.
And they sit with us in silence, carrying some of this weight we never asked for.
#rideformagnus
#driveformagnus
Magnus, I took your car on a road trip today. It’s for something in your honor.
A few months after that day, I had to transfer the registration of your car from your name to my name. Today I realized that your car has now been registered longer in my name than it was in yours.
It’s just one of the many “it’s been longers” that are starting to happen.
#rideformagnus
#driveformagnus
