A DeKalb man accused of raping a child in DeKalb was hit and killed by a semitrailer Tuesday afternoon while fleeing police in Florida, authorities said.
Octavio Lopez, 35, of the 100 block of North 10th Street in DeKalb, left DeKalb County a few days after allegations against him were reported to police on Dec. 8, DeKalb Police Sgt. Craig Woodruff said.
DeKalb police tracked his location as they built a case, and two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault were filed against him Dec. 19, Woodruff said. He was accused of raping a girl younger than 13 in June or July 2013, court records show. If he had been convicted, he would have faced at least six years in prison; probation would not have been an option.
Desoto County Sheriff's deputies in Florida were trying to arrest him on the warrant when he was walking or running on the shoulder of a state highway visibly carrying a knife about 1 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release. Desoto County is southeast of Tampa.
He dropped the knife on the shoulder and ran into the road, directly in the path of a semitrailer, the news release states. The semitrailer struck Lopez, who came to rest on the highway's center lane divider. He was pronounced dead at the scene, the release states.
To bad he didn't get what was coming to him sooner...