MacGyver's family

I didn't really watch this show all that much back when it was first on, so now I'm catching up with it on MeTV (plus,it's on Netflix, surprisingly enough). ANyway, I always thought that both MacGyver's parents died in the car crash when he was young, and that he was raised by his grandfather. But in the episode when we flash back to when they learn about the crash, it says that his grandmother and father were the ones killed. I find it curious that a woman and her son-in-law were driving somewhere together, and Mac's mother wasn't with them. (I know, I know it's not unheard of, but it IS curious.) Then apparently there is some discrepancy about when Mac's mother died. Was he in the service, or a teenager, or what?

To me, his character would have more impact (especially with his solitary lifestyle) if both his parents were killed in that crash when he was young.


(Funny, now that the boards are about to disappear, I'm coming up with all sorts of questions for the shows I watch.  )