Woman wins $10-million lottery prize after accidentally buying ticket in Tarzana

Call it a lucky accident — with a big payoff.

LaQuedra Edwards fed her $40 into a California Lottery vending machine at a Vons supermarket in Tarzana when “some rude person” bumped into her. She planned to purchase several of her favorite inexpensive tickets, but by accident selected a $30 Scratcher.

“He just bumped into me, didn’t say a thing and just walked out the door,” Edwards said in a statement, according to a news release put out Wednesday by the California Lottery.

But Edwards’ disappointment quickly gave way to elation. Once in her car, Edwards rubbed her 200X Scratchers ticket and then had to take a moment to register that she actually won the big prize — $10 million.

“I didn’t really believe it at first, but I got on the 405 Freeway and kept looking down at [the ticket], and I almost crashed my car,” Edwards said. “I pulled over, looked at it again and again, scanned it with my [California Lottery mobile] app, and I just kept thinking this can’t be right.”

Whoever bumped into Edwards at the Vons in November didn’t realize that they altered the course of her life and made her an instant millionaire.

“I’m still in shock,” Edwards said. “All I remember saying once I found out how much I just won was, ‘I’m rich!’”

The odds of winning the $10 million jackpot from the 200x ticket are 1 in 3 million, according to the California Lottery. Edwards is the fifth person to win the top prize and there is only one $10 million jackpot remaining in the wild.

Edwards declined to give any further interviews. The Vons market where she inadvertently purchased her ticket will receive $50,000 for selling the ticket.