Outpouring of Love for Officer Hit in Georgetown

"You're 54 years old and you can't hear," he told his father.

Three years ago, Pozell became a reserve officer, a designation that later allowed him to direct traffic.

"He did not care if you had money or you were a bum covered in trash," Joseph Pozell said. "He was totally unselfish. He didn't care what happened as long as other people were safe and happy."

A day before the accident, Pozell ran in a road race to benefit families of officers killed in the line of duty.

The next day, police said, he apparently did not see a Honda CR-V that was turning onto westbound M Street from Wisconsin Avenue about 3:40 p.m. He walked into it and was knocked to the ground, his head hitting the pavement, police said.

The driver of the CR-V, identified by police as Julia R. Matthews, 19, of the 1300 block of Lancia Drive in McLean, had a green light, police said.

Matthews told investigators that she didn't see Pozell until the collision, police said.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with Officer Pozell and his family," Matthews's father, Robert, said last night.

In a lighter moment last night, D.C. Council member Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) recalled jogging past Pozell at Wisconsin and M about a half-hour before Saturday's accident. Evans said Pozell joked: "Slow down!"

Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report.