Woman accidentally buys identical lottery tickets, splits jackpot with herself

July 14 (UPI) -- A North Carolina woman accidentally purchased two tickets for the same lottery drawing and ended up splitting a $305,046 jackpot with herself.

Susan Gray, of Statesville, told North Carolina Education Lottery officials she meant to purchase tickets for two separate Carolina Cash 5 drawings when she stopped at the Kangaroo Express store in Statesville, but she mistakenly bought two identical tickets for the same Saturday drawing.

"I thought it was a different draw," Gray said. "It was really an accident that I played both. I was really shocked. I couldn't believe it."

Gray won the entire $305,046 jackpot for the Saturday drawing, as she held the only two winning tickets.

She said both tickets bore the set of numbers she always uses for Cash 5 tickets.

"Those are numbers I've been using for years," she said. "My birthday."