Bankrupt airport shuttle bus driver wins $350,000 from Mastercard

This is unbelievable, can only imagine the relief this couple has now!

From JS ONLINE

So long, bankruptcy; next stop, debt-free

Lucy Backman was left with no credit cards after she and her husband declared bankruptcy last year.

So that makes her a deliciously ironic grand prize winner in a sweepstakes sponsored by MasterCard, a contest she more or less entered by accident.

Her prize: $350,000, which is more than four times the credit card debt that put them in bankruptcy court. High medical bills from a car crash had thrown their finances into a tailspin.

“I still plan on keeping my job,” said Backman, 39, of St. Francis.

She drives a shuttle bus at Mitchell International Airport for CPS Parking. Her husband, Bryan, is an inspector at a machine shop.

“I’ll just be out of debt,” she said, “and out of bankruptcy.”

Having a credit card company unexpectedly wipe away your money woes: Priceless!

Lucky for Backman, her MasterCard debit card survived the bankruptcy, and she pulled it out one day last November to pay for about $45 in Weight Watchers services.

…

This story actually began on the day after Christmas 1999 when Lucy Backman went to McDonald’s to pick up an eggnog shake for someone. She was sitting at a red light at Howell and Layton when a drunk, uninsured and unlicensed driver smashed into her car.

The dashboard of her vehicle collapsed and crushed her right foot, a pretty important appendage for someone who drives a bus for a living. The foot had to be reconstructed. For a while, doctors were saying Backman might not walk again. She proved them wrong.

But she and her husband were left with more out-of-pocket medical expenses than they could afford. Eventually, they were using credit cards to pay for groceries and other necessities, then to pay down other credit cards. They dipped into savings and even their retirement account, triggering penalties.

Imagine the odds of this happening! I wonder if she’ll keep her job with Airport Parking or take a year off an enjoy the money she won? From the sounds of it, she sounds like the type of lady that will work no matter what. I do like people like that!