Deputy Sheriff from Falmouth 'Sacrificed Himself' in Fatal Crash

Photo: John Kotfila, Jr., who was killed after shielding another woman from a wrong-way driver in Tampa this weekend. (Credit: Mass. State Police)

TAMPA, FL — John Kotfila, Jr., the Florida sheriff's deputy from Falmouth killed in a Tampa crash this weekend, sacrificed himself to save another woman.

Kotfila, 30, was killed in the Saturday morning crash. Police said a wrong-way driver struck his cruiser. The driver was also killed.

Kotfila grew up in Falmouth. His father is a State Police sergeant and his brother is a Falmouth police officer.

Sarah Geren told the Tampa Bay Times Kotfila drove his cruiser in front of her vehicle and acted as a human shield to save her life. The wrong-way driver struck the cruiser instead of Geren's car.

"He sacrificed himself," Geren said.

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Kotfila was proud to follow in his father's footsteps, police said.

"Sergeant Kotfila instilled in his children the same sense of duty, dedication, and service to others that he himself has embraced throughout his career," Mass. State Police said in a statement.