Powerball winner Mavis Wanczyk’s husband, William, was killed late last year in a tragic hit-and-run crash. William died after he was crushed to death by a speeding pickup truck. His grieving wife, Mavis Wanczyk, just won $758.7 million, the second-largest Powerball jackpot ever, nine months after her husband was killed.
Although millions across the country are envious of Mavis Wanczyk and would agree that she is the most fortunate woman in America, it has been revealed that her good luck came after she was plunged into the depths of sorrow and mourning when her husband was killed in a tragic hit-and-run crash last year.
Wanczyk, 53, who works at the Chicopee Medical Center, was still grieving the loss of her husband when the news of her mega-millions win reached her.
William Wanczyk, 55, a former Northampton firefighter, according to Mass Live , was killed in November of 2016 after he was crushed to death by a hit-and-run pickup truck driver. The truck swerved from the road and hit Wanczyk, at about 9:38 p.m. on a Sunday night in November of 2016, while he was sitting at a bus stop near the U.S. Post Office on North Pleasant Street, Mass Live reported.
The hit-and-run driver was speeding without headlights when he lost control, veered off the road, hit and crushed Wanczyk to death, the Northwestern District Attorney’s office said.
The bus shelter in which Wanczyk was sitting was also destroyed in the crash.
The driver sped on after the crash. He later abandoned his badly damaged truck some distance from the crash site.
Mavis Wanczyk chose birthdays and lucky Keno # 4 as her winning #Powerball . Shown here with Treasurer Deb Goldberg pic.twitter.com/w8kI7BENxI
— Lana Jones (@Lanawbz) August 24, 2017
The driver was identified as Peter Sheremeta, 20, several months after the incident, according to Radar Online .
Sheremeta has reportedly been arraigned on charges of manslaughter and motor vehicle homicide. He reportedly operated the vehicle under the influence (DUI).
“The first thing I want to do is I just want to sit back and relax,” says Powerball jackpot winner Mavis Wanczyk https://t.co/c09wWxuvPP pic.twitter.com/pMLjoMqngF
— WBZ | CBS Boston News (@wbz) August 24, 2017
William Wanczyk worked as an employee of the Northampton Fire Department for about three years. He joined the department on June 2, 1986, and retired on May 18, 1989, after suffering an injury that involved a water hose.
Wanczyk’s retirement, according to The Republican , made him Northampton’s youngest city employee to receive a job-related disability pension.
Wanczyk loved the fired department, Northampton Fire Chief Duane Nichols told Mass Live . Nichols said he remembered Wanczyk although he had not seen him for some years.
“To hear of a traffic accident like that and how he died, it’s terrible.”
[Featured Image by Josh Reynolds/AP Images]
