Man struck by lightning wins lottery years later
Digital Reporter
Wednesday, July 22, 2015, 11:27 AM - The old saying holds that if you survive getting struck by lightning, head immediately to the nearest store and get yourself a lottery ticket.
If you're wondering about how long your enhanced luck lasts, Peter McCathie has tested that out for you: He won half a million dollars this month, decades after being struck by lightning as a teenager.
He and colleague Laura Miller work at the same store in Amherst, N.S., and won the $1 million prize in a July 15 Lotto 649 draw.
Congrats to Peter McCathie & Diana Miller! The 2 co-workers from Cumberland Co. #NS won $1M on #lotto649! pic.twitter.com/zjLJKjMVCV
— Atlantic Lottery (@AL_Lottery) July 20, 2015
McCathie was marked for fortune at age 14 while wading in a lake.
"I was trying to lock the boat up, it was a very sunny day, there was one big, white cloud in the sky and the lightning bolt came through the trees and hit me," he told CTV Atlantic.
It gets weirder. The station reports he apparently has a daughter who was also struck by lightning while working in Manitoba as a guide.
Even better, McCathie actually owns the store where the ticket was bought, so he gets a one percent bonus of $10,000.
"I honestly expected to get hit by lightning again first," McCathie said of his luck.
Sophie Leger, a mathematics professor at the University of Moncton, told CTV the whole story only had 1 in 2.6 trillion odds of happening.
SOURCE: CTV
