News >> Matthew Loving 1979-2009

Matthew Loving, a San Antonio professional golfer, was killed Friday afternoon when his SUV collided head-on with a school bus in Karnes County, and the bus driver and several students were injured, authorities said.
 
 Loving, 30, had to be pulled out of his Chevrolet Suburban after it crashed into a Runge Independent School District bus, which was taking 13 students home, said Karnes County Sheriff David Jalufka. The students were from elementary to high-school age.
 
Jalufka said Loving was westbound on FM 885 and the bus was heading east on the two-lane highway when the collision occurred about 4 p.m. near the FM 81 intersection, about a mile south of Runge.
 
It wasn't immediately known which vehicle crossed into the other's path.
Loving, who was visiting family in the area, died at the scene, the sheriff said.
 
Jalufka said news of the tragedy reverberated throughout the small-knit town of Runge.“I know the family very well,” he said.
 
Loving, who played out of exclusive Briggs Ranch in far west San Antonio, competed two years for Texas Tech and finished his senior season at Texas A&M during a decorated collegiate career that saw him earn All-Big 12 honors twice. He also was named to the conference's All-Academic Team three times.
 
Loving turned professional in 2001 and had played in more than 100 events on the Nationwide Tour, Hooters Tour, Adams Golf Pro Tour Series and, on two occasions, the PGA Tour. His biggest moment came last May when, after being granted a sponsor's exemption into the Valero Texas Open at La Cantera, he made the cut at the PGA Tour event and finished 74th, earning $11,712.
 
Before that, the North Carolina native earned headlines when he captured the 2007 Texas State Open championship with his wife, Brandy, carrying his bag. The past year, Loving played several minitour events, including a pair of top-10 finishes on the Adams circuit en route to a 55th-place showing on the season-ending money list.
Jaluka said all of the students on the bus were taken to Otto Kaiser Memorial Hospital in Kenedy as a precaution, but that at least one had a broken leg. The rest had minor cuts and bruises, he said.
 
The bus driver, Priscilla Jackson, 35, was airlifted to University Hospital in San Antonio after she complained of chest pains. She remained at the hospital in stable condition, officials said.
 
Loving is survived by his wife and 11-month-old daughter, Kaitlyn Claire.

Story courtesy of San Antonio News-Express.