By WECT Staff | January 8, 2020 at 3:52 PM EST – Updated January 8 at 3:52 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. (WECT) – Sylvia Mejia, a school bus driver and cafeteria worker in Robeson County, got a life-changing surprise after purchasing a scratch-off ticket on Tuesday.
Mejia, traveling with family, stopped at Love’s Travel Stop on Hodges Chapel Road in Dunn and tried her luck with some scratch-offs, including a $150,000 Cashword ticket.
As she played the game, she kept seeing more and more words revealed on the crossword puzzle on her ticket.
“I have 10 words,” Mejia shouted out to her daughters and grandson in the car. “I won the big one.”
The family then drove to lottery headquarters in Raleigh where Mejia collected her prize. After required federal and state withholdings, she took home a check for $106,126.
Mejia’s plans for her prize money include helping her children, paying off her car loan, and taking a family vacation.
“It feels good,” said Mejia as she got her check. “I always said one day I would win a big one.”
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