A high-ranking Pima County administrator, who filed a lawsuit against the county after he was injured in a bicycle crash, has resigned.
Martin Willett, the chief deputy county administrator, submitted his resignation letter last Wednesday, more than a year after he was seriously injured while riding on the Dodge Boulevard Bridge. His last day is July 26.
County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said the resignation was related to Willett’s ongoing recovery from his injuries.
Willett was unavailable for comment Tuesday.
Willett spent 27 years with the county and was the second-highest-ranking official to Huckelberry.
He took on a variety of tasks but was best known as the county’s lead official for its intergovernmental program.
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As part of the program, Willett guided lobbyists who worked on behalf of Pima County in the state Legislature and in Washington, D.C.
He worked for the Legislature before coming to the county.
Willett, who was working part time before his resignation, was well-respected throughout the state, Huckelberry said.
“He was a person who weighed the options and reacted,” Huckelberry said. “He was always very calm.”
Huckelberry, who is close friends with Willett, said he has distanced himself from the investigation of the crash and subsequent lawsuit.
In June 2013, Willett was riding on the Dodge Boulevard Bridge at the Rillito River when the front wheel of the bike got stuck in a “drainage gap.”
Willett, who was wearing a helmet and other safety gear, shattered a number of bones in his back, requiring nine surgeries in six months, according to court documents.
He filed a claim in January, a precursor to the lawsuit, asking for $6 million to compensate for the injuries he received, as well as for the suffering of his wife. He filed the lawsuit in March.
The county filed an answer to his complaint in April, admitting Willett was injured in the county but denying responsibility for the incident.
Shortly after the crash, county officials closed the bridge to cyclists and work was performed to make the area safer for those riding bikes.
The county also hired its own legal counsel and a safety expert to study the case.
