Florida deputy killed after being hit by wrong-way driver

BRANDON, Fla. (AP) – Authorities say a Florida sheriff’s deputy who worked as a traffic crash investigator was killed after his car was hit head-on by a wrong-way driver, who also died in the accident.

Authorities say Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Deputy John Robert Kotfila Jr. had just left a hospital Saturday where he had been working on an investigation when the crash occurred on the Selmon Expressway.

Authorities say the other driver, 31-year-old Erik Thomas McBeth, died at the scene; the 30-year-old deputy died at a hospital. He had worked for the sheriff’s office for six years.

The ramp was closed to westbound traffic.

Kotfila was being mourned among Massachusetts law enforcement. His father is a longtime member of the Massachusetts State Police and has another child who is a Falmouth, Massachusetts, police officer.