ALBANY — Albany County is on the hook for a major payout to a Washington County sheriff’s deputy involved in a rear-end collision with an employee of the Albany County District Attorney’s Office who “may have previously been counseled about her driving.”

The Albany County legislature unanimously approved the $120,000 settlement during its Aug. 13 meeting. 

The approved expenditure puts to rest a lawsuit filed in November 2020 by Terry Markham against Albany County, its district attorney’s office, and Zahraa Majeed, who was employed by the office when she collided with the back of Markham’s car.

Requests for comment from the district attorney’s office and Markham’s attorney in the case, Alex Dell, were not returned before publication. John Liguori, the deputy Albany County attorney, in a statement to The Enterprise said,  “We have no comment at this time as we await to consummate the settlement.”

In May 2019, Majeed, an investigator with the district attorney’s office at the time, was driving a county-owned vehicle along Main Street in the town of Kingsbury, Washington County, “when she negligently struck the rear of the vehicle operated by Plaintiff Terry E. Markham in what is commonly referred to as a rear end collision,” according to the November 2020 complaint.

At the time of the incident, Markham “was in the course of his employment as a Washington County Sheriff,” according to the filing; the “accident occurred during a joint venture with other agencies.” Neither the joint venture nor the other involved agencies are named in court papers, which are generally devoid of detail.

Markham’s complaint alleges that Majeed, who “may have previously been counseled about her driving,” and her office’s actions consisted of a dozen “acts and/or omissions” of negligence, including, among others:

— Speeding, as well as driving the vehicle at an unsafe speed for the conditions.

According to the National Weather Service, the weather in Kingsbury on May 21, 2019, was mostly sunny with a high of 72 degrees and a low of 48 degrees with zero chance of precipitation; 

— Failing to yield the right of way at a traffic circle or island;

— Failing to take any reasonable precautions to protect Markham from harm, even though he was lawfully driving his vehicle; and

— Negligently hiring, training, and supervising Majeed, the operator of the vehicle involved in the incident.

The complaint alleges Majeed’s failure to comply with driving statutes ordinances “directly and/or indirectly” resulted in “personal injuries which are permanent in nature,” and that injuries sustained by Markham will continue to cause “severe psychological stress and pain.”