A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy was killed Wednesday in a collision involving his patrol motorcycle and a sedan stopped in traffic on the Riverside (91) Freeway.
Deputy Timothy Corlew was fatally injured about 5:35 a.m. on the westbound 91 at La Sierra Avenue in Riverside, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP Inland Empire Division spokesman Officer Dan Olivas said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon that Corlew was traveling in the HOV lane at an unconfirmed speed when he encountered “traffic ahead … stopped across all lanes.”
“For reasons still under investigation, the deputy collided with the rear of a Toyota (Lexus), and he was ejected from his motorcycle onto a Hyundai sedan,” Olivas said.
Riverside Fire Department paramedics reached the location within minutes and attempted life-saving measures, after which Corlew was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he was pronounced dead moments later, according to Olivas.
He said the Lexus driver suffered minor injuries and was taken to the same hospital for treatment. The occupant of the Hyundai was not hurt.
The CHP’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is continuing to piece together the details of what happened.
The agency’s Riverside office spokesman, Officer Javier Navarro, told City News Service earlier that it was “unlikely any criminal charges will be coming out of this down the road, based on what we know right now.”
Sheriff Chad Bianco posted a brief statement via social media, saying “with immense sadness and a heavy heart, I must report the sheriff’s office has lost another deputy in a line-of-duty death.”
He added that Corlew was attached to the sheriff’s Jurupa Valley Station. However, no details were released Wednesday regarding the fallen deputy’s length of service, or other background information.
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.
His 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 felon involved in a domestic violence incident in Lakeland Village.
Prior to that, on Dec. 29, 2022, 32-year-old Deputy Isaiah Albert Cordero, a motor patrolman, was fatally shot by a felon, who had been granted early release from jail, during a traffic stop in Jurupa Valley.
There was no immediate word on funeral arrangements for Corlew.