Gaston County school bus driver wins lottery

A Gaston County school bus driver and substitute teacher won $283,484 playing Carolina Cash 5.

Audrey Childers said the money will help her buy a new home for her family.

"It's wonderful," Childers said as she collected her winnings with her husband and three daughters. "I'm in a dream. I can't believe it. I told my husband I was going to win. Now he believes me."

Childers had one of two winning tickets that split a $566,968 Cash 5 jackpot in the Feb. 11 drawing. She bought the ticket on Feb. 10 when she stopped to buy gas at the Westview Grocery on Catawba Avenue in Mount Holly.

A week later, she stopped at the store again to buy gas and asked the retailer to check her tickets to see if she had won anything. She said the clerk told her one of the winning tickets had been purchased at the store and after checking hers announced, "This is the winning ticket."

Childers' share of the jackpot was $283,484. After taxes were withheld, she received $192,770.

"We're going to buy a house," Childers said. "We've been saving up. So now we can buy a house."

The other winner of the jackpot was Steve Kidd of Ramseur in Randolph County. He claimed his share on Feb. 13.