Man rolls down a window after winning jackpot — then lottery ticket nearly flies away

A husband and wife taking a trip to northern Michigan stopped at a gas station convenience store to buy something to drink.

While at Beacon and Bridge Market in Fife Lake on April 8, they noticed the Fantasy 5 jackpot was over $300,000 and decided to buy a ticket, according to a news release from the Michigan Lottery.

“The next day, my wife checked the ticket on our way home and started screaming when she realized we had won the jackpot,” the 49-year-old Kent County man told lottery officials.

The jackpot prize was worth $328,439.

“I started sweating when she told me how much we’d won, so I rolled down the window and the ticket almost flew out the window!” the man continued. “Thankfully my wife was able to grab it and tuck it away in a safe spot.”

He recently went to claim his prize, and he told lottery officials that he and his wife plan to save their newfound cash.

“Winning is surreal and still hasn’t sunk in, so we haven’t made any plans for the money yet,” he said. “We are hoping to save most of it so that we can retire a little earlier than we planned.”

Fife Lake is about 120 miles north of Grand Rapids.

This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 12:37 PM with the headline "Man rolls down a window after winning jackpot — then lottery ticket nearly flies away."