A Brooklyn truck driver has claimed a $298.3 million Powerball jackpot, the New York State Gaming Commission announced Friday.

The jackpot, drawn on Dec. 26, is the second-largest in New York Lottery history,  according to a release.

David Johnson, 56, was sick when he bought the ticket at a gas station,  NBC News reports. He decided to work his job as a truck driver anyway so he could collect holiday pay.

He called in sick the following day, CBSNewYork says. Johnson soon learned that the winning ticket had been sold at the location where he bought his ticket, but he didn't get his hopes up, the station reports.

“That’s not my luck,” he recalls saying,  according to CBSNewYork. It took him several days to check his ticket.

When he returned to the gas station to scan his ticket, he was shocked at the result that appeared on the screen: "BIG WINNER." 

Since then, Johnson's life has been changed. “I can’t even eat. I start and can’t finish my food. I’m happy with joy inside,” he is quoted in a release.

Johnson will take his winnings in a single lump-sum payment totaling $114,091,248 after taxes, a release says.

He's not working as a truck driver any more, NBC News reports: "I’m rich. I don’t gotta go to work no more," Johnson said.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/01/25/brooklyn-truck-driver-claims-298-3-m-powerball-jackpot/2683610002/