John Turner, who owns a Chicago business specializing in pumping water and cleaning out buildings following disasters, traveled to the East Coast immediately after Hurricane Sandy hit. He and his employees worked first in New York City and then moved on to water damaged areas in New Jersey.
Turner was “shocked by the devastation,” according to the New York Daily News. He even emptied out some flooded homes free of charge after seeing that some families were completely wiped out without any flood insurance to cover their loss.
While unwinding after work on the Jersey Shore he bought some scratch-off lottery tickets. It must have felt like a reward from heaven because his Poker Card turned out to be a $100,000 winner.
“I showed the card to my buddies, and we all couldn’t believe it. We started asking the people around us in the pizzeria, and they all said it was a winner,” Turner said. “I was overjoyed and had tears in my eyes.”
Turner, 38, who is no stranger to New Jersey, was born in Newark. In recent years, his company, National Catastrophe Solutions of Chicago, has brought him back to New Jersey many times to help out with post-storm cleanups, including those from Hurricane Irene and various Nor’easters.
“We are very grateful that John has given his time and skills to help the people dealing with the challenges brought on by Sandy,” said the state’s lottery director. “New Jersey is giving a memorable thank you back to him.”
(WATCH the story below, or READ more from CBS News, NY)
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