The Hillsborough County deputy killed earlier this month will be laid to rest today in his native Massachusetts.

Deputy John Kotfila Jr. was killed March 12 in a wrong-way crash on the Selmon Expressway.  

There was a wake for Kotfila on Tuesday in Falmouth, Massachusetts. His funeral will be held today, followed by his burial in his hometown.

A local service was held last week in Lutz for Kotfila, who was 30 years old.

A witness to the crash, Sarah Geren, said Kotfila's actions just before the crash likely saved her life.

Geren said Kotfila was driving behind her, and as she tried to pull over, he pulled around her and hit the SUV head on.

“He saved my life,” Geren said. “If this deputy had not made a split-second decision to pull around me, that would have been me dying. Not only did he save my life, but he saved my boyfriend’s life as well.”

Kotfila worked for the Sheriff’s Office for the past six years. He was a traffic crash investigator and worked in the SafetyNet Program, which helps find missing adults and children with special needs.

The wrong-way driver, 31-year-old Erik McBeth from Hudson, also was killed in the crash.