RivCo Deputy Killed On 91-Freeway As Department Mourns

Deputy Timothy Corlew, assigned to Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s Station, was involved in an on-duty traffic collision and died Wednesday.

By Ashley Ludwig, Patch Staff

Jan 8, 2025 11:54 am PDT

Deputy Timothy Corlew, assigned to Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s Station, was involved in an on-duty traffic collision and died, Sheriff Chad Bianco said. (Photo Credit: Riverside County Sheriff's Department)

RIVERSIDE, CA — A Riverside County sheriff's deputy was killed Wednesday in a collision involving his patrol motorcycle and an SUV on the Riverside 91 Freeway, Sheriff Chad Bianco confirmed.

"With immense sadness and a heavy heart, I must report that the Riverside County Sheriff's Office has lost another deputy in a line of duty death," Bianco said.

At about 5:30 a.m., Deputy Timothy Corlew, assigned to Jurupa Valley Sheriff’s Station, was involved in an on-duty traffic accident and died.

Corlew was fatally injured on the westbound freeway at La Sierra Avenue in Riverside, according to the California Highway Patrol.

"It was an accident," CHP Officer Javier Navarro said. "Our Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is out there now, still gathering details."

Witnesses told the CHP that Corlew's motor unit and a dark-colored SUV collided, but nothing more could be immediately confirmed.

Navarro said a statement regarding the collision would be released Wednesday afternoon.

Corlew was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Information on the other driver was unavailable.

"No one was arrested, and it's unlikely any criminal charges will be coming out of this down the road, based on what we know right now," Navarro said.

The last line-of-duty death occurred in May 2023, when 27-year-old Deputy Brett Michael Harris was responding to a call for backup, going through a San Jacinto intersection when his patrol SUV was side-impacted by a sedan, resulting in fatal injuries to the lawman. The other driver suffered minor injuries.

Corlew's was the third in a string of on-duty deaths that occurred over a roughly four-month span. Preceding him was 30-year-old Deputy Darnell Calhoun, who was gunned down in January 2023 in an alleged ambush perpetrated by a convicted felon involved in a domestic violence incident in Lakeland Village.

Before that, on Dec. 29, 2022, 32-year-old Deputy Isaiah Albert Cordero, a motor patrolman, was fatally shot by a felon granted early release from jail during a traffic stop in Jurupa Valley.

There was no immediate word on funeral arrangements for Corlew.