D.A.: Bills' Lynch was driver in hit-and-run

After just over a week of hanging in the balance, the alleged hit-and-run involving a vehicle owned by Marshawn Lynch has reached the next level. Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark now believes the second-year running back was behind the wheel of the car when it struck and injured a 27-year-old women. BFR's J.P. Butler has the story.

One week ago it was uncertain as to whether or not Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch was driving – or even a passenger – in the vehicle that was involved in a hit-and-run accident near Buffalo’s downtown bar district in the early morning hours.

Now it appears Lynch, the second-year bruising back out of Cal, was indeed involved in the accident that left a Toronto woman with a bruised hip and seven stitches.

Erie County District Attorney Frank Clark said he believes Lynch was driving the vehicle in the alleged hit-and-run accident that took place May 31 at the intersection of Chippewa Street and Delaware Avenue, USA Today recently reported.

“We’re proceeding on the assumption that Lynch was driving the car,” Clark said Friday, a day after he was limited to saying that Lynch was inside the 2008 Porsche SUV when it struck a woman crossing the intersection in downtown Buffalo before speeding off.”

According to the report in USA Today, Clark made his new assertion based on the vehicle being owned by Lynch and that the player was spotted that night in the bar district near the accident scene. And he noted that police located the vehicle – with damage linking it to the collision – parked in the player’s driveway later that morning.

“So the logical presumption is that he was driving the car,” Clark said.

Clark said Lynch and his attorney have still not scheduled a meeting with him or police investigators. Clark said he’s confident the investigation is nearing completion.

“I think this case is going to be resolved, and at the latest the first part of next week,” Clark said.

The report stated that on Thursday, Clark raised the possibility that passengers in the vehicle might have included Lynch’s teammates and warned that it would be important for them to step forward.

“I’m not saying how we know it or who they are, but they know who they are, so we’ll just see how this plays out,” Clark stated.

Lynch, the Buffalo Bills’ 2007 first round pick, has declined comment and did not take part in the Bills voluntary practice Friday morning – the first session he’s missed since the series of minicamps began three weeks ago.

Without going into detail, head coach Dick Jauron said Lynch’s absence was related to a personal issue but not the accident, USA Today said.

Lynch’s attorney Michael Caffery was not immediately available for comment.

The victim, identified as a 27-year-old woman from suburban Toronto, had a bruised hip and a cut which required seven stitches. She was treated and released from the hospital on the same day. Clark is open to a plea in what’s considered a Class A misdemeanor that carries a maximum one-year jail sentence and $1,000 fine.

Last season, the 5-11, 215-pound rookie rushed for 1,115 yards and seven touchdowns in 13 games. He averaged four yards per carry while running for at least 100 yards in three games.