From near-death experience to life-changing luck
By Kate Northrop
FREMONT, Ohio — Years after surviving a terrible freak accident at a Fourth of July parade and dealing with the fallout, an Ohio man won a $500,000 lottery prize that turned his life around.
A car crash survivor used to believe that luck was on his side after he walked away from an awful accident, but a different sort of luck came his way last month that would change everything.
Duane Huffman of Fremont has had a difficult life ever since a freak Fourth of July accident complicated his well-being and financial situation. In 2017, Huffman was one of several individuals seriously injured in a crash that involved a historical antique truck and two farm tractors in a parade.
Huffman was walking in the parade with a group from his church, carrying his 18-month-old daughter, WTOL had reported at the time. He barely had time to react to the "near death experience."
The driver of the truck had lost control of the vehicle and collided with the tractors, injuring five people, one of whom was flown to a Toledo-area hospital for severe injuries.
"Everything happened so fast, somebody just yelled at me, 'Hey watch out,' and it was way too late," Huffman told reporters. "I turned, and my daughter was on her hands and knees crying 'Daddy,' and I seen that guy's dual tires about four to six inches away from smashing her head."
Huffman said he wasn't sure whether he was run over by a tire or if he was knocked over by a bumper since the only thing on his mind was his daughter's safety. He miraculously walked away from the accident with severe road rash on his back, bruised ribs, and badly scraped knees, but he didn't harbor any ill will towards the truck driver.
"It's an old vehicle, you know, he did what he could," he explained to the news station. "He probably saved a lot of lives, you know, at least he didn't hit one of the sidewalks where there's hundreds of people on the sidewalk that he could've mauled over."
Police cited the 58-year-old driver for operating a vehicle with defective brakes, and Fremont Fire Chief Dave Foos suggested changing the parade route so that vehicles would no longer travel downhill.
In the years since that day, Huffman's health has suffered due to his lasting injuries, which has made it difficult for both him and his family. He's had multiple heart attacks, and he lost his job. They found themselves in a financial struggle, but it's never been without lingering gratefulness that they survived.
And today, Huffman and his family know a different kind of luck.
He decided to stop at Hy-Miler on West State Street in Fremont one day after work and buy a scratch-off ticket from the $10 "Money Money Money" instant game. He waited until he returned home to play it.
Huffman started scratching the top row and didn't have to go much farther than that to reveal a $500,000 top prize.
"I looked at it for a long time," he told the Ohio Lottery. "At first, I thought something was wrong."
After freezing for several moments, he got up to put the ticket in a safe.
He's claimed his prize from the Lottery and took home $366,250 after federal and state taxes. Now that things have swung in his favor, he's looking forward to showing up for people who have helped him throughout the years since the terrible accident.
The prize money will also help him pay for a new vehicle and treat his family to a vacation, after which he'll invest the remainder.
Huffman claimed the first of five $500,000 top prizes in the $10 "Money Money Money" scratch-off game, which launched in December 2025. There are also 18 out of 22 second-tier prizes of $20,000 and 21 out of 24 third-tier prizes of $10,000 remaining.
The overall odds of winning any prize in the game are 1 in 3.88.
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