Insider Buzz: Man Dies In Crash Weeks After Winning LotteryA northwestern Indiana man who won $9.7 million in a January lottery drawing died when his car struck a utility pole in a rainstorm, police said.
James K. Craig Jr., 43, is the second Indiana man to die this year shortly after winning the lottery. He was pronounced dead about 4:30 a.m. Saturday shortly after the crash on U.S. 231 about 15 miles south of Gary near the town of Winfield.
Lake County police spokesman Michael Higgins said Craig lost control of his 2003 Saturn in rainy conditions, causing it to flip over, strike a utility pole and eject him.
On Jan. 31, the Hebron resident won the $9.7 million Hoosier Lotto jackpot after buying what turned out to be the winning ticket at a Crown Point convenience store.
Craig's best friend, Greg Crnkovich, said that after he won the lottery Craig formed a limited partnership with 16 relatives, including his brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.
"He bought the ticket for himself but he put others in the group," Crnkovich told the Post-Tribune of Merrillville.
Brian Popp, an attorney who represented Craig, described the Craig family when he collected their prize as "an average Joe family," ranging in age from 3 to 67.
Shortly after winning the lottery, Craig quit his job at Vesuvius USA in Crown Point and was planning some business ventures, Crnkovich said.
"He was real excited, it was a change of life for him," Crnkovich said.
Before Saturday's accident, Craig had been shooting pool in Crown Point and at the time he was driving home "it was raining real bad," Crnkovich said.
Although he didn't have much time to enjoy his fortune, Craig did travel to Cancun and went on a skiing trip to Colorado.
"He just had a big heart for people," Crnkovich said. "If you were any type of friend, he'd give you the shirt off his back. He was more like a brother to me."
Funeral arrangements are being completed by the Burns Funeral Home in Crown Point.
Another Indiana lottery winner died this year soon after claiming his winnings.
In January, Carl D. Atwood, 73, of Elwood, was struck and killed by a pickup truck a few hours after winning $57,000 on the "Hoosier Millionaire" television show. He had been walking to the store where he had bought his winning ticket.
