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Woman’s car breaks down as her husband wins the lottery. The news has her ‘screaming’

A Maryland man told his wife he had won the lottery when he rescued her on the side of the highway with her broken down car.
A Maryland man told his wife he had won the lottery when he rescued her on the side of the highway with her broken down car. Getty Images/iStockphoto

Charles Reed got a call from his wife bearing unfortunate news — her car had broken down on the side of the highway. He went to help, with some news to share himself, according to Maryland officials.

“When he showed me the ticket, I just started screaming on the side of the highway,” the woman told Maryland Lottery officials.

Reed revealed he had just won $100,000 on a scratch-off game, Maryland Lottery announced in an Oct. 11 news release. The ticket was part of the Baltimore Ravens’ second-chance promotion game that debuted in August.

The Frederick, Maryland, man told lottery officials he bought two $5 Raven X5 tickets at the behest of his daughter.

“Get a scratch-off, dad,” she told him.

He did just that. When he scratched the tickets, the last number on one of them matched the winning number 33, he said.

“My daughter was asking, did I win, but I couldn’t speak,” Reed said to lottery officials. “I just picked her up and spun her around and around as she was saying, ‘We’re rich!’”

Reed, who’s a father of three, called his daughter his “good luck charm.”

After he realized the win, his wife called to tell him the car broke down and she was stranded. The father and daughter drove out there to rescue her and to deliver the good news.

That’s when she started screaming, she said.

“It was a roller coaster of emotions,” she told lottery officials. She went with her husband to Maryland Lottery headquarters to claim the winnings.

With the money, Reed said they’ll get a new car.

After Reed won the $100,000 top prize from the Ravens X5 scratch-off, five top prizes are left, in addition to an assortment of smaller wins, according to the Maryland Lottery site.

On the other side of the country, someone hit the $1.765 billion Powerball jackpot in California the evening of Oct. 11, Powerball announced. It’s the second-largest jackpot in U.S. history.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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This story was originally published October 12, 2023 at 11:19 AM with the headline "Woman’s car breaks down as her husband wins the lottery. The news has her ‘screaming’."

OL
Olivia Lloyd
mcclatchy-newsroom
Olivia Lloyd is an Associate Editor/Reporter for the Coral Springs News, the Pembroke Pines News and the Miramar News. She graduated from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism. Previously, she has worked for Hearst DevHub, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and McClatchy’s Real Time Team.
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