Struck D.C. Pedestrian Has Critical Injuries, $5 Ticket

Atherton reviewed countless proposed monuments and projects, including the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial and the National World War II Memorial. He started at the commission in 1960 as an assistant secretary.

"He was there for the formation of so much of the city," said Thomas Luebke, the commission's current secretary who replaced Atherton. "He has been an institution in the development of Washington as far as I can remember."

Earlier this year, the American Institute of Architects awarded Atherton its Thomas Jefferson Award. In granting the honor, the jury wrote that Atherton's "influence on works of public architecture and maintaining quality architecture and planning in our nation's capital is reminiscent of Mr. Jefferson's own commitment to the built environment."

Don Myer, who worked under Atherton for 30 years, described him as "very politically astute about how things have to get done" and said that he was an early proponent of historic preservation in Washington. "He was passionate about protecting height limits and tree coverage," Myer said.

A native of Kingston, Pa., Atherton lives in Cleveland Park and has two sons and a daughter.

A widower since the death of his wife, Mary, in 1993, Atherton liked to eat in restaurants on Connecticut Avenue.

His daughter, Sarah, 35, said she was puzzled by the police version of the accident. "Dad always felt strongly about crossing at intersections," she said.

He was particularly careful, she said, after a friend was killed while crossing Connecticut Avenue.

Staff researchers Madonna Lebling and Meg Smith contributed to this report.