Marva Tennyson, the mother of McKinley Tennyson Jr., who starred at UCLA and later played briefly for the Los Angeles Galaxy during its 2002 title run, was killed in a car accident on Sunday near Los Banos, Calif., when the car he was driving was struck by another car that crossed the median and into the path of his Toyota. Tennyson's wife, Heaven Tennyson, who was in the front passenger seat, was reported to have suffered major injuries, while their 2-year-old son Hezeki and he sustained minor injuries.

The driver of the other car, 18-year-old Krista Brockman, also was flown to a regional hospital with major injuries.

The accident occurred on Highway 152 on Sunday morning after Brockman lost control of her car, the Merced Sun-Star reported.

The son of an U.S. Army officer, Tennyson was born in Monterrey, Calif. He was fourth in voting for the 2000 MAC Award while playing at UCLA, and he represented the USA in qualifying for the 1999 World Youth Cup.

Tennyson led the USL First Division in scoring with 18 goals and six assists for the Portland Timbers in 2002. Later in the season, he was signed by the Los Angeles Galaxy and is believed to be the only player to score in MLS playoffs without ever making an appearance in the MLS regular season.  He scored 31 seconds into entering the game against the Kansas City Wizards.

A hip injury forced Tennyson to retire in 2004 and he entered the Riordan Fellows Program at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. In 2010, he received a master's in accounting from USC's Marshall School of Business.