73-year-old Florida school bus driver wins $2 million lotto jackpot

VERO BEACH, Fla. — A 73-year-old Florida school bus driver plans to retire after winning a $2 million Powerball jackpot and buy a muscle car he has wanted since he returned from Vietnam in the 1960s.

Jim Dippold has driven a bus for nearly two decades for St. Edwards School, TC Palm reported. He checked the Powerball numbers before leaving for work Aug. 26 and realized he won.

“It is a shocker ... I can’t sleep ... I cant function,” he said.

Dippold has played the same numbers, all birthday related, since he moved to Florida from Pennsylvania 20 years ago, TC Palm reported. He went to Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee over the weekend to turn in his ticket. Because of coronavirus restrictions he had to put it in a secure drop box, something he was hesitant to do. However, lottery officials announced he won on Thursday.

He has told his boss that he won, but he still has not told the students on his route.

He would like to spend some of the money on a 1969 Dodge Dart, the car that caught his eye when he returned from Vietnam in 1968.

“I’d like to get a classic car and go to car shows,” he said.

Cox Media Group