His twin died in a 2012 Lexington ATV crash. He died on a motorcycle on Father’s Day.
A Central Kentucky father died in a motorcycle accident in the early hours of Father’s Day, less than eight years after his twin brother died in an ATV accident.
Matthew Sparks, 23, ran off the road on a motorcycle and hit a fence just before 1:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Woodford County Coroner Ronald Owens. Sparks was on Ky. 169 near the county line between Woodford and Jessamine counties and died at the scene, Owens said.
Owens said it’s unclear what caused Sparks to run off the road, and the crash is still under investigation.
“He was hands down the best dad that you could ever imagine,” said SaraBeth Proffitt, the mother of Matthew’s children. “And he was such a hard worker, and he worked every single day to give our kids the best life.”
Sparks’ twin brother, Michael, was 15 when he was riding an ATV that ran a stop sign in Lexington and collided with a truck. He died as a result of his injuries on Sept. 20, 2012.
“Michael was his world,” Proffitt said. “He struggled with Michael.”
Proffitt said she and Matthew met in 2014, about two years after Michael died. They stopped dating in June of 2019, but they remained best friends. She said they had also talked about getting back together. Their three children are Andrew, 4, Remington, 2, and Hunter, 11 months old.
Matthew Sparks was a mechanic. “You put him in front of something, he knew how to do it,” Proffitt said. “He was so smart. It was natural to him.”
Sparks went out on a lake Saturday, Proffiitt said, and she picked the kids up from him around 9 p.m.
“I remember that he kissed the kids and he said, ‘I love you all, I love you. You be good for your mom, and I’ll see you Tuesday,’” Proffitt said. “And they said ‘I love you daddy, see you Tuesday.’”
Proffitt said Matthew went to a bonfire with some friends after being out on the lake.
“He had texted me at 12:05 that night and said that he was leaving the party, and he was on the way to my house,” she said. “And he never came here. He never showed up.”
Proffitt said she got the call about 1 a.m. that he had been in a bad accident. She went to the coroner’s office around 3 a.m. with Matthew’s mother to identify the body, she said.
“I will miss him more than anything in this world, and my children — we’re trying to make it,” she said. “The hardest part is trying to be strong for these three babies.”
The Sparks brothers’ friends grieved on Facebook but said the two were now together again.
“Happy Fathers Day Matthew Sparks, Rest In Peace,” Luis Hernandez said Sunday. “Ima miss you bro. At last, reunited with Michael Sparks. Y’all have fun, till next time.”
Guillermo Fernando Monroy Gutierrez shared a similar message.
“Happy fathers day to Matthew Sparks and may you rest in peace brother,” he said. “I know Michael Sparks will be happy to see you.”
Proffitt said on Facebook that donations could be made to Betts and West Funeral Home in Nicholasville.
“You have reunited with your twin and I know you’re happy about that, but you’ll be missed down here,” Jean Ballan said.
This story was originally published June 22, 2020 at 10:13 AM.