SASKATCHEWAN (CBC) - Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch apologized in a statement for hitting a Canadian woman with his vehicle and pleaded guilty to a traffic infraction on Friday.

In a deal struck with Erie County, N.Y., officials, Lynch was spared criminal charges and pleaded guilty to failure to exercise due care in the incident early May 31 in the club district of Buffalo, which injured a pedestrian.

The woman, from Milton, Ont., had a bruised hip and a cut that required seven stitches. She was treated and released from a hospital on the same day.

Police publicly had threatened to lay more serious charges after Lynch took several days to respond to their requests for information and had even subpoenaed several Bills players and the team's chief operating officer. Lynch's Porsche Cayenne was impounded.

Lynch said in a statement Friday that he was unaware that he struck a pedestrian.

"I am sorry that [the victim] was struck and injured," he stated. "Please know that I was completely unaware that my car had made contact with anyone until after the investigation had begun. I would never knowingly leave the scene of an accident and did not do so in this instance."

Lynch was driving the vehicle, with rookie Steve Johnson a passenger. The running back said in a statement he was distracted while driving by another female pedestrian, who was dancing as she went through a crosswalk.

Lynch rushed for 1,115 yards and seven touchdowns for the Bills in his rookie season. He was selected 12th overall in the April 2007 NFL draft after foregoing his senior year at the University of California.

While Friday's events seemingly bring the case to a resolution with the authorities, the victim could still seek civil damages.

With files from the Associated Press

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