May 27, 1999

Web posted at: 10:47 p.m. EDT (0247 GMT)

MELBOURNE, Australia (CNN) -- Australian truck driver Bill Morgan's extraordinary string of luck began, strangely enough, when he was crushed in a truck accident and suffered a fatal heart attack.

Clinically dead for more than 14 minutes, Morgan was revived. After 12 days in a coma -- during which time his family was advised to unplug life support -- he awoke with all of his facilities intact.

A year after his heart stopped, he proposed to his girlfriend, Lisa Wells. She said yes.

And then two weeks ago, he bought a scratch-off lottery ticket and won a car worth $17,000. A Melbourne TV station was so impressed with his run of luck, it decided to do a story on Morgan and re-enact his scratching of the ticket.

As the cameras rolled, Wells won a jackpot worth $170,000 (250,000 Australia dollars). He plans to use the money to buy a house for his bride.

After such extraordinary luck, Morgan is giving up the scratch cards. He says his only wish now is for continuing health and happiness, a sentiment Wells shares.

"I just hope he hasn't used all his good luck up," she said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.



LATEST HEADLINES: