Powerball winner's ex-husband was killed in hit-and-run crash
BOSTON -- The ex-husband of the woman who won the $758.7 million Powerball prize was killed last year in a hit-and-run.
MassLive.com reports that court records show Mavis and William Wanczyk divorced in 2012.
William, 55, of Northampton, was killed in November when he was sitting at a bus shelter in Amherst, Massachusetts, and a pickup truck plowed into it. He had served as a Northampton firefighter from 1986 to 1989 before being injured on the job.
Peter Sheremeta, 20, of Belchertown, was later arrested and charged with manslaughter, motor vehicle homicide, drunken driving and other charges.
He has pleaded not guilty. Authorities say a truck without its headlights on was seen speeding before it started to fishtail, drove onto the sidewalk and struck the bus shelter. The heavily damaged truck was found abandoned nearby.
The couple's daughter, Marlee Wanczyk, told The Republican newspaper at the time of Sheremeta's arraignment, her father was a "wise-cracker" who enjoyed playing practical jokes.
The 53-year-old hospital worker from Chicopee quit her job on Thursday after learning she had won the prize, the biggest undivided lottery jackpot in U.S. history.
Lottery officials say she chose to take a lump sum payment of $480 million, or $336 million after taxes.
