FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The driver who hit and killed a 9-year-old girl riding her bike in Fort Collins last year has written a letter to the public.

Michelle Smith said she does not have a clear memory of the crash, but police have told her she had "recently finished a cell phone call and may have been distracted in some way by the call," according to the Fort Collins Coloradan.

Erica Forney was in the bike lane when she was hit. She died from her injuries.

Smith was charged with careless driving resulting in death. As part of her plea agreement, Smith didn't have to serve any jail time, but she had to serve two years probation, pay more than $400 in fines, make a charitable donation of $1,500 to a charity chosen by the victim's family, complete 150 hours of community service and write a letter of a apology to the victim's family.

The newspaper reported that Smith wrote in the letter that, if she had appreciated the risks associated with cell-phone use while driving, Erica Forney might still be alive.

“My heart and prayers are and will always be with the Forneys,” she concluded in her letter.