A millionaire lottery winner was rushed to hospital yesterday after a bus crash in Belfast city centre.
Peter Lavery, 61, who won £10.2 million in May 1996, is believed to be recovering well since the collision, which took place shortly before 9am.
A friend told the Belfast Telegraph: ‘He is fine, he’s alright — just a bit tired.’
The former bus driver, who was earning around £200 a week before he hit the jackpot, is now working on his dream to bring whiskey production back to Belfast for the first time in almost 90 years with his business The Titanic Distillers.
Peter Lavery (pictured) was a former bus driver, who was earning around £200 a week before he hit the jackpot in May 1996
The Ambulance Service reported to a call at 8.58am and took two people to the Royal Victoria Hospital, including Mr Lavery
Mr Lavery (pictured) is now working on his dream to bring whiskey production back to Belfast for the first time in almost 90 years with his business The Titanic Distillers
He was the subject of a BBC programme last month, Our Lives: The Lottery Millionaire and the Spirit of Belfast revealed how Mr Lavery’s newfound wealth almost killed him
He was the subject of a BBC programme last month, Our Lives: The Lottery Millionaire and the Spirit of Belfast, which revealed how Mr Lavery’s newfound wealth almost killed him.
‘When you buy a lottery ticket, you dream of having success, but you never think it’ll ever come,’ he said in the programme.
‘You wake up the next morning and you’re still dreaming, but there’s reality.’
Mr Lavery quit his job two days after he won in 1996 and immediately took his ten closest pals to a five star resort in St Lucia in the Caribbean.
Not soon after he took 22 people to New York for St Patrick’s day, he said: ‘We just partied for four or five days. It was a nice feeling to be able to do that for them.’
Friends, including East Belfast DUP councillor Sammy Douglas, recalled how the party-lover came to his senses after realising the impact his lifestyle was having on his health.
Mr Lavery, 61, who won £10.2 million in the lottery in May 1996
The Titanic Distillers was granted a licence in August to produce a single malt premium spirit at the historic Thompson Dock and Pumphouse
Mr Lavery, who is now teetotal, reflected on his younger years: ‘Doctors’ orders, I had to stop drinking or I wouldn’t be here today.
‘I would be up in smoke in Roselawn.’
Summing up his life since the win, Mr Lavery said: ‘The night I won my fortune there were 33 million people playing the lottery and I had the right six numbers, which is unbelievable.
‘It has certainly changed my life and changed the lives of a lot of other people too.’
The Titanic Distillers was granted a licence in August to produce a single malt premium spirit at the historic Thompson Dock and Pumphouse.
SDLP representative Gary McKeown has raised concerns about the ‘major risk’ that buses pose to the public in the city centre and plans to write to the Department for Infrastructure.
‘Authorities can’t simply sit back and do nothing while we wait for someone else to be hurt or killed,’ he said.
‘This is the second incident of this nature involving a bus in Donegall Square West this year, the other resulting in the tragic death of Samuel McAuley in January. It’s not acceptable to allow this to go on.’
Translink has been contacted for comment.
The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service reported to a call at 8.58am. They said in a statement: ‘Following assessment and initial treatment at the scene, two patients were taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital.
‘The circumstances surrounding the crash are not clear and the condition of the second person is not known.’