Trucker 'Could Not Speak' After Winning Huge Prize In Tennessee Lottery

A commercial truck driver passing through Tennessee is still in shock after the lottery ticket he purchased from a local store earlier this month won him $1 million.

Yuriy Zalyevskyy lives in North Carolina but his job takes him around the country. On October 8, he was driving through Tennessee on his way to California when he pulled into the Pilot Travel Center in Stanton, a small town about 50 miles east of Memphis. It was at the convenience store, located off Interstate 40, that he decided to try his luck at the lottery and buy several scratch-off tickets. That choice turned out to be a success, with one Millionaire Jumbo Bucks ticket leading to $1 million prize.

With so much time spent on the road, he's had plenty of opportunities to think of how he would react to winning such a prize, WKRN reports. However, his initial reaction didn't turn out how he expected.

"Before, I thought I'd be loud, jumping up and down," Zalyevskyy told lottery officials, but his actual reaction to winning $1 million was much quieter. "I could not speak. I walked, slowly and quietly, to my truck because I didn't know what was going on."

So what does he plan to do with his newfound winnings? Well, for starters he plans to use a portion of the prize to purchase a home.

Zalyevskyy is the latest person to win a million-dollar prize in the Tennessee Education Lottery. Earlier this month, a pair of friends were on their way to work when a quick stop to pick up some lottery tickets ending with them splitting $3 million.