Two co-workers and friends Thursday claimed their share of a Powerball jackpot from the June 23 drawing, winning $48.5 million of the $96.9 million jackpot split with another winning ticket sold in Ohio.

Kim Claassen and Joseph Lamport Jr. of Helena claimed the prize at Lottery headquarters.

Claassen said she originally checked the winning numbers for the wrong drawing. Thinking she and Lamport didn’t win anything, she tore up and threw away the two tickets she had purchased the day of the drawing. But after a neighbor told her the jackpot ticket was sold at the Town Pump at 2401 N. Montana Ave. where they play, she pieced the winning ticket back together and realized she matched all five numbers and the Powerball to win the jackpot. After verifying the ticket at Lottery headquarters, she called Lamport to share the news.

“I didn’t really believe it,” she said. “That’s not something that would happen to us.”

The friends have worked together as home health care providers for several years and began playing the Lottery together about two years ago. Lamport said they’ve talked about possibly starting their own home-health care company for disabled adults. But for now, they plan to continue working where they are.

“We’ve got people to take care of,” he said.

The winners now have 60 days to choose between the $48.5 million annuity, which is paid as annual payments over 30 years, or whether to accept the cash amount of approximately $25 million as a lump sum.

The Montana Lottery was created by referendum in 1986. In the past 23 years it has paid out over $355 million to players in prizes and returned more than $162 million to the State of Montana.