A GROCERY store employee’s mistake turned into the biggest stroke of luck of his life when he accidentally generated a lottery ticket worth millions of dollars.

    Michael Donnelly, of Woodbridge, Virginia, the U.S. meant to sell a Powerball ticket to one of his customers but hit the wrong button and produced a Cash4Life entry instead.

    The customer didn’t want it so Donnelly, who works in Fall Church, decided to buy the ticket and entered the draw himself.

    He later found out the ticket had all six numbers of a Cash4Life worth US$7 million.

    Donnelly could choose between getting US$1,000 every day for the rest of his life or receiving the sum in full.

    He went with the second option and received a large check Friday.

    “It still hasn’t hit me yet,” he said.

    Donnelly didn’t even realize he had won until several days after the draw. He checked his ticket after a customer said he had heard on the news that a winning ticket had been sold at the store.

    He then called his wife to tell her he had the winning numbers.

    “If that’s true, you have to come home because I’m about to have a heart attack!” she replied, lottery officials said.

    Cash4Life is played in six states, including Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Tennessee.(SD-Agencies)