Man hits two deer with new car, but $2 million lottery win in NC turns his luck around

Anthony Dowe’s day got off to a rough start.

Driving to work, the Leland man accidentally crashed his brand-new car into two deer.

After that, Dowe wasn’t eager to see what else the day had in store for him, so he decided to play it safe.

“So, I just got mad, went back home, got into bed and went to sleep,” Dowe told North Carolina Education Lottery officials.

But then the universe threw another surprise his way.

Having slept some of his anger away, Dowe woke up and started checking his Mega Millions tickets, hopeful his luck would change. It did.

“I checked the fourth ticket and I saw the ‘4’ and then the next number and the next number and the next number,” he said. “I’m like, ‘Wow!’ It was just crazy.”

The $3 Quick Pick ticket, purchased from Minuteman Food Mart on Mercantile Drive, won him life-changing money.

All five of his numbers were called, which netted a $1 million prize alone — and when the Megaplier was pulled, the winnings doubled to $2 million.

“I went and showed my dad and my mom and everybody was happy,” he said.

The odds of Dowe’s numbers being called were 1-in-12.6 million, according to lottery officials.

Dowe went to the lottery office in Raleigh on Monday to collect his prize, a total of $1,415,001 after state and federal taxes.

“It just feels great,” he said. “I’m just gonna fix things on my mother and father’s house and get my car fixed, pay it off, and pay my niece’s car off.”

As for the rest of the money, Dowe said it will live in a savings account.

Tuesday’s Mega Millions jackpot is at $20 million, or $14.7 million if taken as a lump sum.

This story was originally published January 26, 2021 at 7:10 PM with the headline "Man hits two deer with new car, but $2 million lottery win in NC turns his luck around."