S.B. County Deputy Remembered as ‘Ray of Sun Every Day’ at Service

A crowd of 3,500 friends and law enforcement officers from throughout the state attended the funeral Wednesday of San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Deputy Ron Ives.

Ives, 43, an eight-year veteran assigned to motorcycle patrol at the Rancho Cucamonga station, was killed Sept. 1 when Francis James Rawls of San Bernardino ran a red light at Archibald Avenue and Baseline Road and struck Ives’ motorcycle.

Ives and Rawls, 60, died at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center in Colton.

“Ron was a ray of sun every day,” Ives’ younger brother, David, told mourners at Rancho Cucamonga’s ballpark, the Epicenter. “He often sacrificed his time for others. His payment was their smiles.”

Sheriff’s spokesman Chip Patterson said, “Considering the amazing support from all over the place and the great things that were said about Ron, we can only hope [the funeral] helped Ron’s family and those close to him.”

Ives is survived by his wife, Karen, and son Blake, 20.

Authorities are conducting tests to determine whether Rawls suffered a heart attack before the crash.

Doctors at Arrowhead Regional said Rawls’ heart stopped “at least twice in the emergency room, and the doctors felt he had heart attacks,” deputy Coroner Rocky Shaw said.

“We’ve been able to determine he had a history of cardiac disease.”

Sheriff’s investigators are reassessing skid marks and steering patterns at the intersection that would indicate whether Rawls was unconscious before the crash.