they paid tribute to john kotfila jr. >> i'm proud t to call him a hero. but a lilike of men and women in the room, he was not defined by one moment in time. >> reporter: master deputy gary herman thought of him as a son and said the man who put his patrol car between a wrongway driver and another motorist saturday morning was always ready to help others. >> and that is what made him a true hero. not because of how he died, but because of how he lived. >> reporter: he comes from a family of cops in california and police from that state showed up in droves for his funeral. his mother and father sat quietly next to his casket while his sister said good-bye. down here on earth, but gained another one up in heaven. >> reporter: this family lost a sun, but gained the gratitude of a community and the respect sworn to serve. >> it was in his dna. that is why he became a cop. >> reporter: it is in his family dna in fact. the deputy comes from a long line of law enforcement officers back in massachusetts now. no doubt, many of those officers will be at his grave si

. >> deputy john kotfila, jr. driver to save a woman's life. his funeral hours away. how is the family coping now? >>reporter: you can imagine it's been a tough week but they say the community support has helped them through this. they came here to the memorial. a man who spent six years serving his community when you see that smile, it's infectious. >> reporter: john sharing with us the family moments. the kotfila family coming from a long line of officers. >> i tried to dissuade him from it. you see a lot of tragedy. >> reporter: he went on to spend six years doing a job he loved.

. >> deputy john kotfila, jr. died after he collided with pay wrong-way driver to save a stranger. today, family, friends, and colleagues will come together as they celebrate his life. ashley yore is live at the sheriff's office in ybor city. >> you are standing where fallen deputies are memorialized there. this is a memorial for fallen deputies. here you can see the last one in 2010. this is the spot right next to it where john kotfila will be. they have so much to celebrate. everyone we spoke about talked about kotfila's infectious smile. deputies called him their little brother. he comes from a law enforcement family. his dad spent 30 years with the massachusetts state police. >> i was devastated. i don't remember what happened after that. i just know i was on the ground, and it was tough. >> reporter: kotfila's family is taking comfort in the final moments of saving someone else. an eyewitness says she saw the kotfila sped around her to keep her from getting hit. the flag is at half staff. hours. we're going to be there as friends, family, and the law enforcement community says

abc action news is honoring john kotfila, jr. today. >> first, ivan and janelle join us now with traffic and weather together. how are things looking for this friday? >> we're looking better as the fog out there found an issue this morning in a second with the problems as far as the road. we already have a crash out there. temperatures in the 60s throughout 70 degrees right now. looking pretty good with the winds coming in generally in the south and southeast up through the remainder. day. watch here as we talk about temperatures in zephyr hills dropping to 63 degrees this morning. that's closer to the dew point. nothing that i think will impede your travels this morning. the coast. how about that? good stuff. as we look at temperatures, the rest of the day will be in the low 80s. we'll have a lot of clouds out there. the reason for that is a disturbance will begin to inch in from the north. so the next three days, we'll continue to see the rainfall. the timing for that and when we could expect the heaviest rain and cooldown in a

deputy john kotfila jr. gave his life to save another >> john robert putting his life and car in front of a another. >> reporter: and his funeral, loved ones remembered him not just for the heroic way he died, but for how he lived, to serve others so selflessly. and today's tribute to deputy kotfila was truly moving. a sea of law enforcement officers came to pay their respects, jenn holloway joins us with more on the tribute to the fallen deputy. >> reporter: john kotfila served to the very end. a young man giving his own life to save the life of another. shall we gather at the river >> reporter: the sweet sounds of hymns filled saint timothy's church as one of the bravest men to wear a hillsborough county deputy uniform was laid to rest. among family and friends were dignitaries including governor rick scott and pam bondi. all there to pay their respects to deputy kotfila, just 30 years old, who gave his life in the line of duty. others. >> reporter: kotfila's father is in the force, his brother, an officer

deputy john kotfila jr. will be laid to rest in his hometown of massachusetts. earlier this month he drove in between a wrong way driver and another driver on the selmon expressway to save a woman from the impact of the crash. the wrong-way driver who also died had a blood alcohol level more than three times the legal limit. count on abc action news as we bring you a look at his final on-line at abcactionnews.com. >>> the family of a central florida man outraged this morning after learning a woman accused of brutally beating jail. last month police arrested two women for attacking 74-year- old ronald hollingsworth and stealing his pain pills. the family learned last night that bond for one of the suspects, 29-year-old tasha mullens has been drastically lowered and now she could get out of jail. the family says the bond was dropped because of a delay in testing the narcotics recovered during the arrest that kept prosecutors from filing a formal statement of charges in the case. this morning the fdle not saying why those tests were delayed. >>> happening today --

. >> thousands of people turned out today for the funeral of hillsborough county deputy john kotfila jr. he died in a terrible crash saturday after putting his squad car between a wrongwgway driver and another motorist. mark douglas was there and joins us now live. mark, i was there with you today. there were moments of both sadness and pride for this young deputy who literally gave his life to save someone else's. >> reporter: yes there was rorod. this was an impressive turnouout. died at the age of 30 years old. barely starting his law enforcement career. he was a deputy who carried out his oath to serve and protect

. >> hillsborough county dep the john kotfila, jr. will be laid to rest on friday. the died in the line of duty. it's believed he intentionally drove his cruiser into the path of a wrongway driver. no one believes that more than the woman he{ saved. sarah geren was driving with her boyfriend saturday morning in tampta back win she noticed a pair of head legislates coming at her the wrong way. the vehicle but it kept coming. moments away from impact a deputy's cruiser came out of nowhere and swerved in front of her. the c killed the deputy. today sarah and her father did their best to let everyone know what a hero he is. >> just like the brothers in the military. they look out for each other and they have to stand up for each other, he saved my daughter. >> i was a random person on a random road at a random time. i didn't know him and i love him. for saving me. >> the driver of the wrongway car, erik mcbeth, died in the crash. highway patrol is investigating to determine if alcohol was a factor and figure out how he got his car on to the expressway. the barriers were

. >>> just last weekend in hillsborough county a wrong way driver claimed the life of deputy john kotfila jr., on the selmon expressway near brandon. we brought you full coverage of his funeral this past weekend. fdot is installing a series of signs and lying in hopes of preventing these types -- lights in hopes of preventing these type of crashes again. >>> several families are home out this weekend. fire crews headed to killian street in spring hill last night. turns out an underground pipe from one of the homes was leaking propane gas so about eight of the homes were cleared out, they were able to return after crews fixed that leak. >>> st. petersburg police report a spike in overdoses from the drug spice, we're now learning about arrests involving the drug in another pinellas county city. there are two people, these are two people from clearwater that police caught just yesterday. officers say cory lawrence and marie covanas had what appeared to be synthetic marijuana. they were busted at crestlake park where several people have had reactions to the dangerous drug. the police chief says

@his name john robert kotfila, @jr. @just a short -- a few minutes @ago we could see both vehicles @drive by us on wreckers. @both of them taken from the @scene from what we can tell, it @seems that all roads have been @since reopened this just a @horrific crash. @both of them smashed completely @in, and you can see the -- you @can see the two vehicles right @here from the photos that we @were sent this morning from the @scene. @of course, hillsborough county @sheriff's office gave us a @close-up look of what that @deputy's car looked like after @this crash. @his front end completely mashed @in. @he had to be extricated from @the car. @the roof cut off. @a photo of john kotfila that we @have after a story last year. @he actually rescued a kitten @from a storm drain. @you see him holding a cat here. @we have done a story before @with this officer. @he is a traffic crash @hillsborough county sheriff's @department. @he has been working for them @for over six years. @30-year-old deputy, and just @such a tragic loss for this

we learned his name. 30-year-old john kotfila jr. was killed when a wrong-way driver slammed into his cruiser head on. this is a picture when he rescued a kitten last year. this crash happened on the east selmon way on the i-75. we learned the driver's name, 30-year-old eric thomas mac beth. this is a look from our traffic cameras. it has been cleared now, but the roadway has not been reopened just yet. we're going to go to >> it has been a sad story, but on a brighter note, the weather is cooperating for your outdoor plans. if you're getting out like these folks on crystal weather, the weather is looking good. highs climbing to 82 degrees. no rain in the forecast until tomorrow. make it a great day. take a mountain of beads, an ocean of screaming fans, boatloads of shrimp, an ice cold coca-cola, and you've got florida's biggest party. universal orlando is mardi gras. select nights: february 6th thru april 16th. grab a coke and get up to on any annual pass. you'll enjoy amazing mardi gras concerts at universal studios. plus fun in bo

deputy john kotfila, jr. is mourned by loved ones and the bay area community. jake peterson is live outside of the shark's office -- sheriff's office. there is a memorial out there that has been growing. what are we learning? >> reporter: good morning. he was with the department for six years and i can show you, flags are flying at half staff in ybor city. copula will be the next deputy investigators are piecing together why 31-year-old erik mcbeth was driving westbound in the eastbound lane of the investigators that he was speeding and hit felis patrol car head-on. both men died. he wanted to be a traffic investigator later in his career. his colleagues were emotional. >> it was like losing a family member. and it drives at home to all of the deputies because it could of been his car or anyone else's car. >> we're told that cat bella is we are hearing about pending funeral arrangements. in the tampa bay area just this what people are doing about it coming up in 30 minutes. jake peterson, nbc action news. the man driving the wrong way in the deadly crash. deput

deputy john kotfila jr. will be laid to rest today in his hometown of massachusetts. earlier this month he drove in between a wrong-way driver and another driver on the selmon expressway, to save a woman from the impact of the crash. >>> good morning. we have a crash reported on the veterans expressway southbound at waters. i am seeing some backup here but it always looks congested this time of morning on the veterans expressway. so unclear now if the crash is causing any extra delays. let's check in with captain al. how are things where you are? traffic southbound i-75 at bruce b downs. just a little beyond it, several vehicles and debris in the road has one lane closed. allow extra time. >>> cool start but a lot of sunshine will warm us up this afternoon. back to near 80 so looking good. 72 by 8:00. >>> it's national puppy day. congratulations to the new canines in the pinellas county sheriff's office. all four dogs you see here just earned their u.s. police k-9 association certifications. i just posted a picture of my dog as a puppy on my facebook page. i want you

>> it was just one week ago a wrong way driver claimed the life of hillsborough county deputy john kotfila jr. that crash happened on the selmon expressway near brandon. fdot now installing signs and lights in hopes of preventing the types of crashes including along i-275. >>> a needed boost for a first responder hurt in a crash. we told but eric valdez, when he was hit by an uninsured driver nearly two months ago. he was riding his motorcycle home from work. his right arm and hand severely family and friends held a fundraiser yesterday in tampa to help cover his medical expenses. he says he's grateful for all their help and chance to get back out into the community. >> it's nice to see everybody again. i was at home, couldn't move around much. nice seeing familiar faces, friends and family supporting us. >> valdez face as long road to recovery. he's undergoing physical therapy to overcome nerve damage in his arm. >>> emmy nominated actress laverne cox is coming to usf tonight. one of the stars of "orange is the new black," the first transgender woman of color to have a leading role in a dram

3 live pictures from skyf pskyfox this morning as the pfamily of hillsborough county pdeputy john kotfila, jr. make ptheir way to funeral being held pin his honor today. p>> kotfila was killed saturday pa. wrong-way driver crashed into phim on selman expressway law penforce the officers from across pthe area, across the state pexpected to be in attendance at ptoday's service. pgoing to be a sad day. pand one of remembrance. plaw enforcement is the family pline of work for the kotfila pfamily. pfather, massachusetts state olice sergeant his brother a olice officer in plymouth, pmassachusetts. p>> and his 30-year-old, so pyoung, finally laid to rest this phome state of massachusetts and pso we join hands this morning pwith local officers we send our psincerest prayers to his family. p>> and again live coverage of pthat coming up opinion tough day pfor the community. p>> all right fortunately we have pto switch gears here we will get pit was another tough cut on p"american idol" last night. pbut there was one performance pthat has everybody talking. p>> well this is was performance pthat brought

> these are the messages left @by fellow law enforcement @officers for the family of @deputy john kotfila, jr. @they signed this banner @yesterday at his funeral. @it will now be presented to @deputy kotfila's loved ones @this thousands of police @officers and deputies attended @the funeral to pay their @respects. @nearly all law enforcement @agency in the state of florida @sent a delegation of officers. @>> alcides: the funeral began @early in the day as deputy @kotfila's casket arrived that @the church. @quite an emotional is lute. @deputies who knew him well @describe him as a hero, a good @the church was filled in @capacity and overflowed into @the parking lot. @a riderless horse with his flag @draped could have close behind @draped could have close @behind. @a 21-gun salute and helicopters @flew overhead and the missing @man formation and then the @final call. @radio dispatch called @hillsborough unit 4258 three @times and announced to all @units that deputy kotfila, unit @4258 was end of watch. @he died one week ago on the @selmon expressway by a wrong @selmon expressway by a @wrong-way

. @>>> and today marks one week @since hillsborough county @deputy john kotfila jr. @tragically lost his life. @>> friends, family and @colleagues bid their final @farewell. @thousands of people packed st. @timothy's to pay their respect @to deputy kotfila. @a witness to the crash said @kotfila was a hero because he @put his patrol cruiser in @between her car and the wrong @between her car and the @wrong-way driver. @about his sacrifice. @>> john was one of those guys @who always was there when you @needed him. @it didn't matter what it was or @where or when. @we just show up and take care @of things. @no questions asked, no @expectation of reciprocation. @>> after the service, amazing @grace played as a riderless @horse was set out with @kotfila's flag-draped coffin @left behind and then a final @salute. @[gunshots] @>> alcides: finally @helicopters flew overhead in @the missing man formation. @you see the chopper there. @that peels away. @it is meant to represent deputy @kotfila's departure to the @heavens. @he spent six years with the @department. @he will be bury

. @>>> one week since hillsborough @county deputy john kotfila jr. @tragically lost his life on the @selmon expressway aj anjuli @friends and family said their @final farewell. @they paid that i respects to @a witness said he was a hero @because he put his patrol troos @any between her car and this @wrong way driver. @many were not surprised to hear @about a sacrifice. @>> john was one those guys that @always was there when you @needed him. @it didn't matter what it was or @where or when he would just @show up and take care of things @show up and take care of @things. @no questions and no expectation @no questions and no @expectations of reciprocation. @ [bagpipes] @>> reporter: after the service, @amazing grace was played as a @riderless horse was led out @with kotfila's flag-draped @coffin. @and then a final salute. @ @>> alcides: finally helicopter @>> alcides: finally @helicopters flew overhead in @the chopper is meant to @represent deputy kotfila @departure to the heavens. @he was 30 years old when he @died. @he spent six years with the @departm

phillsborough county sheriff's pdeputy john kotfila jr. was pkilled by a wrong-way driver on pthe upper levels of the selmon pexpressway. pthe driver, erik mcbeth, was paulz killed. pkotfila's father was a psergeant. pkotfila was just 30 years old. p>>> police are still searching pfor the person that hit and pkilled a driver in ybor city and pkept going after 10:00 last pnight on republica decuba north. prepublica de cuba was shut town pto traffic but is now re-opened. p>>> in clearwater police pinvestigate an accident where a edestrian was hit and killed paround 8:00 in the area of phercules avenue. pan adult man was hit and killed. pdriver. pthe roads were closed while olice investigated, but they phave since re-opened. p>> lindsay: switching gears pnow, 7:30. pwelcome to your sunday morning. pstill dark in some spots because pof the time change. psunrise is in nine minutes, and pthe clouds have already started pto thicken in the coastal pcounties. pit's 70 degrees in tampa and dry pto start out the day and it's pdry in st. pete. pwe're

p>> deputy john kotfila, jr. has parrived back in massachusetts. pkotfila was killed in wrong-way pcrash on selman expressway just pover week ago early sunday pmorning deputies led hearse pcarrying his casket to tampa pinternational airport. phe will be buried in his home pwednesday. p>> well a jacksonville campaign pheadquarters vandalized all pcaught caught on camera. pyou can see person make several pattempts to break the glass pnow we got it. pthis is the fourth act vandalism pdirected against trump pjacksonville campaign office. pbuilding owner says suspect pshows up to the campaign pheadquarters today willing to pvolunteer to learn about olitics she'll drop criminal pcharges. p>> florida primary may be over. pbut there are many, many more on pthe horizon. panother big tuesday tomorrow. phandful western states will head pto the polls. pdemocrats will vote in arizona, pand utah and idaho. pwhile republicans will head to olls in arizona. pand utah. p>> and happening today a very pspecial hockey game taking place pright now in tampa. pnot however

thousands of law enforcement officers today gathered at saint timothies to bid farewell to john robert kotfila jr. who died in a crash. mark douglas has more. >> reporter: as you know, these rituals, these police funeral so. deputy died, but maybe even his life. the pews. the governor, the attorney general, the mayor of tampa. but mostly there were hundreds of law enforcement officers, massachusetts. >> so this really hits home. >> reporter: deputy kotfila spent years as a deputy before putting his squad car between a motorist and a wrong way y driver on the expressway saturday morning. >> blessed are the peacemakers. >> reporter: and he was that. dying at the age of 30 not in a blaze of gunfire, but providing a measure of mercy for a motorist hehe never knew. someone he was sworn to protect and serve. raised an honorable son. >> reporter: his family sat close to the speaker. >> john was born to serve others. it was in his dna. >> reporter: finally, it was time to say farewell. and religious ritual gave way to the rights of the badge. this deputy answered his final call satururday morning. >> for

enforcement is mourning the loss of one of their own. 30-year-old hillsborough county deputy john robert kotfila, jr. was killed when he was hit by a wrong-way driver early this morning on a tampa expressway. he was a six-year veteran of the force. investigators are looking into why the driver of the other car ignored wrong-way warning signs. much bigger issue between . at this time of night, there is a lot of people that have been can you make alcoholic beverages -- consuming alcoholic beverages out on the road. when he to be attention what we are doing on the road. adrian: there shall trying to find out if alcohol was a factor. the driver going the wrong way also died. a man is accused of plowing a snowmobile into two dog teams in alaska. now, he' s saying sorry for the action. 26-year-old arnold demoski says he was drunk when he hit two separate teams in separate incidents and had no idea of the damage he did until he sobered up. that' s when he called police and confessed. one dog was killed in the incident, three others were injured. there musters were ok. -- there must sure mushers were ok. de

sheriff's deputy john kotfila, jr. collided with a wrong way driver to save a stranger. his father said today's service will be a celebration of his son's life because there really was so much to celebrate. his family says they are taking comfort in his final moments since saving someone else. his funeral will be in a few hours. we'll be live streaming it on our web seat at abcactionnews.com. in tampa, i'm ashley yore, abc action news. >>> good morning, everybody. we're keeping an eye on i-40 for you. keeping an eye on ybor city in the westbound lanes. i've been checking the cameras. you are looking at a ten-minute drive from 75 to 275 on i-4. we still have this closure on a right now, the eastbound lanes of bush are completely blocked. your alternate line bah and waters are nicely right now. no problems or delays there. let's check your drive times if bridges. not too bad for this friday. ten minutes across the causeway. just seven minutes across the gandy bridge. ivan? >>> temps are in the lower 60s back to 70 degrees at st. pete. excellent news and we'll continue to s

john @k aftfila jr. @they signed this banner and @they will be presented it to @deputy kotfila's loved ones. @deputies from across the @country attended to pay their @respects. @they sent a delegation of @officers @>> the funeral began early in @the morning as deputy kotfila's @casket i arrived to the church @and an emotional service. @they spoke at the funeral and @described him as a good man. @a hero who was always there @when needed. @the church was packed to @capacity. @people even overflowed into the @parking lot. @they watched as a riderless @horse was led out to church @with the flag-draped coffin @close behind. @a 21-gun salute and a @helicopter flew overhead in the @and then the final call. @radio dispatch called for @times. @then announced to all units @that the deputy kotfila 4258 @was 10-7. @end of watch march 12, 2016. @deputy kotfi la died one week @ago on the selmon expressway by @a wrong-way driver. @in the final act of heroism, a @woman said he put had is @cruiser between her and the @wrong-way driver saving her @life. @he will be buried in his home @state of massachusetts.

john kotfila was with the force six years. he died when erik mcbeth drove the wrong way on the selmon head-on. investigators are now looking into whether alcohol was a factor here. >>> a, jr. road project along u.s. 41 in lutz. crews will close the highway near crenshaw lake road to repair the railroad crossing. some worries the closing will cause major delays. >>> let's get straight to leslee lacey for a look at detours. >> we are heading into rush hour, already seeing delays lutz area. and crenshaw lake road is also known as whitaker road. nebraska. you can take dale mabry highway up in this area. it looks good. not seeing any delays at this point. but a decent drive nonetheless. and then avoid everything. central avenue remains closed. talking about that earlier accident there. they have still got lanes blocked down on central right at 54th street due to the stolen vehicle that collided with the police officers. so take 1st avenue north or south instead. courtney campbell causeway westbound, all lanes are blocked. you will want to take that howard franklin bridge and then eastbound we've got one lane getting by, a 45 minute commute across the city council eastbound. ho

he's 30-year-old john kotfila jr. he was killed when a wrong