By Police1 Staff
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The sister of a Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy who was killed in the line of duty last year is following in her brother’s footsteps.
Deputy Katelyn Kotfila was sworn in as a Hillsborough County deputy Wednesday, WFLA reported.
Her brother Deputy John Kotfila Jr., 30, was killed March 12, 2016 when a wrong-way driver hit his patrol car head-on, The Tampa Tribune reported. The driver, Erik Thomas McBeth, was killed in the crash as well.
“Anytime I see anything with HCSO I think of him and I am reminded that I am here and he is not,” Katelyn told WFLA. “But in the process, if I could save just one family from the pain and suffering that I went through, it would be worth it.”
Katelyn’s father, John Kotfila Sr., said her brother’s death prompted her to make a change.
“She was questioning her life at that point, how am I affecting people? I am not affecting people like my brother did and he was a role model to her and she said she was going to carry on his footsteps,” Kotfila Sr. said.
Katelyn said the day was bittersweet, but knows her brother will be watching over her.
“He would just be really proud of me and be happy, I just wish he could be here with me,” she said.