A Charlotte woman recently hit it big in the lottery, winning an unbelievable $1 million. Timiaya Ellison was surprised to learn that she scored one of the two biggest Cash 5 lottery jackpots in the history of North Carolina, WCNC reports.
Officials with the North Carolina Education Lottery said Ellison purchased her winning ticket at the Circle K on University Boulevard in Charlotte. Another lucky winner in Charlotte got their ticket from a Circle K on John J Delaney Drive in Ballantyne. The two tickets matched all five numbers in the drawing and split the record-breaking $2 million jackpot, the first time in Cash 5 history the prize reached such levels.
Ellison was ecstatic when she won, but she didn't immediately recognize the full extent of her prize, a cool $1, 054,439.
"When I found out, I thought I had won half of the amount I did," she said. "I was getting my hair done yesterday, and I said, 'Oh, let me check my lotto and see if I can use any of it for some gas.' I was looking at it, just standing there like, 'oh my God,' and misread it because I was so flustered."
In total, Ellison took home more than $740,000 after taxes.
Photo: Getty Images