RivCo Deputy Killed On Duty To Be Honored With Procession, Funeral

RIVERSIDE, CA — Residents are invited to support the procession and attend the funeral of Timothy Corlew on Thursday — a Riverside County sheriff's deputy who was killed during a traffic collision earlier this month.

Corlew, 40, died on Jan. 8 after he was involved in an on-duty traffic accident.

"On behalf of the entire Department, we extend our deepest sympathy to the family of Deputy Timothy Corlew," department officials wrote in a release. "Please continue to pray for Deputy Corlew’s wife, two sons, and the men and women of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office as we grieve this loss."

The procession, set for 9 a.m., is restricted to family members and county sheriff's personnel, but the public is encouraged to line the streets in support. The procession will take Corlew from Acheson and Graham Mortuary to Harvest Christian Fellowship Church, 6115 Arlington Ave. in Riverside.

Here is the procession route:

• Arrive at Olivewood Memorial Park, 3300 Central Avenue, Riverside, CA 92506
• Exit State Route 91 at Central Avenue and turn right
• Merge onto eastbound State Route 91
• Turn right, merge onto southbound Interstate 15
• Turn left, head eastbound on 2nd Street
• Turn left, head southbound on Hamner Avenue
• Turn right, head westbound on 6th Street
• Turn left, head southbound on California Avenue
• Turn right, head westbound on 7th Street
• Turn left, head southbound on Crestview Drive
• Westbound on Arlington Avenue from Harvest Christian Fellowship Church parking lot

Funeral services begin at 10 a.m. at Harvest Christian Fellowship and are open to the public. Those who would like to send flowers may have them delivered directly to the Harvest Christian Fellowship Church no later than 8 a.m. on the day of the services, according to the sheriff's office.

The services will also be live-streamed on Riverside County Sheriff’s Facebook and YouTube pages.

Sheriff Chad Bianco confirmed that Corlew's patrol motorcycle and an SUV collided on the Riverside 91 Freeway around 5:30 a.m. on Jan 8.

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

"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.

"It was an accident," CHP Officer Javier Navarro said near the time of the incident. "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. Corlew was pronounced dead on arrival to the Riverside Community Hospital.

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.

Corlew began his service with the department in 2016. After graduating from the 198th Basic Academy, he was assigned to Sheriff's Court Services before he transferred to the Jurupa Valley Station on August 29, 2019. Corlew completed Motor School in June 2022 and was working in Motor Enforcement when he died, the department said.

The last line-of-duty death was reported in May 2023, when 27-year-old Deputy Brett Michael Harris was responding to a call for backup. Harris was traveling 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.

Patch editor Ashley Ludwig contributed to this report.