A Riverside County sheriff’s deputy was killed Wednesday in a collision involving his patrol motorcycle and an SUV on the Riverside (91) Freeway.
Deputy Timothy Corlew was fatally injured at about 5:30 a.m. Wednesday on the westbound freeway at La Sierra Avenue in Riverside, according to the California Highway Patrol.
“It was an accident,” CHP Officer Javier Navarro told City News Service. “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.
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 provided 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 convicted 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 granted early release from jail during a traffic stop in Jurupa Valley.
There was no immediate word on funeral arrangements for Corlew.