BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A retired Brooklyn bus driver is in for the ride of his life after hitting a $7 million lottery jackpot.
Frederick McClendon claimed the winning Cash4Life ticket on Dec. 1, the New York State Gaming Commission announced Tuesday.
The former NYC Transit Authority worker bought the lucky numbers at Bedford-Stuyvesant liquor store Mx Wine & Spirits on the day of the Nov. 24 drawing.
“I usually play the Powerball or Mega Millions games, but instinct told me to by a Cash4Life ticket this time,” McClendon said in a statement.
It was a happy holiday season for McClendon, who didn’t check his numbers at the Halsey Street store until Thanksgiving.
“…The store clerk gave me a print out of the results. That’s when I knew I had won big,” McClendon said.
McClendon will receive his prize in a lump sum payment of more than $4.3 million after withholdings.
But he's been unable to plan what to do with it — he said he's still "in shock."
“We’re at the beginning of a new year, and I just want to take some time to really think about it before making any decisions,” he said in a statement.
McClendon is the 160th New Yorker to claim a state lottery prize of $1 million or more in 2014, according to the agency.
