A lucky woman has thanked Mother Nature after a lottery ticket she bought when she pulled in to find shelter from the lightning during a thunderstorm brought her USD 50,000.
The lady from the city of Saint Clair, Missouri State, USA, was reportedly on the road with her husband when they found themselves in the middle of a summer storm.
She said in a statement obtained by Newsflash from Missouri Lottery: “There were two lightning bolts that both hit at the same time right next to me.
“I told my husband, ‘I don’t want to drive into that storm.'”
The pair then made a stop at the ‘On the Run’ convenience store, where they bought a Powerball ticket for the drawing on 1st July, while waiting for the storm to pass.
But when the woman checked the ticket at home the next morning she was stunned to see that she had matched four out of the winning numbers 4, 17, 35, 49 and 61, plus the Powerball number 8.
Unable to believe her luck, she told lottery officials when collecting her USD 50,000 (GBP 38,189) prize: “I almost didn’t stop! I can’t believe this. It is exciting.”
She revealed she will spend her winnings on her grandchildren.
Missouri Lottery officials said: “Saturday’s Powerball jackpot is, which is estimated at USD 875 million [GBP 668], is the sixth highest Powerball jackpot ever offered.
“If the jackpot is hit, the ‘Jackpot Reset’ promotion will be activated – giving players who buy three Powerball plays on a single ticket a free USD 2 [GBP 1.5] Powerball ticket.”
