US man sets "Greatest Distance Thrown in a Car Accident" record in Guinnesss Book

Matthew McKnight hopes nobody would outbid his record which is now in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Photo: US man sets "Greatest Distance Thrown in a Car Accident" record in Guinnesss Book

US man sets

That's because McKnight holds the record for "Greatest Distance Thrown in a Car Accident" in the book's 2008 edition.

The 29-year-old record-holder lived to tell about being thrown 118 feet (36 meters) by a car that hit him while traveling about 70 mph (113 kph). He was struck on Oct. 26, 2001, while trying to help accident victims along Interstate 376 in Monroeville, about 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of Pittsburgh .

He suffered two dislocated shoulders plus a broken shoulder, pelvis, leg and tailbone. He spent two weeks in the hospital and 80 days in rehab before returning to work in April 2002.

McKnight is a volunteer firefighter and paramedic, though he was not on duty when he stopped to help the accident victims. He works full-time as a communications specialist at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh .

McKnight's emergency room physician, Dr. Eric Brader, submitted paperwork for the record, which Guinness recognized in 2003. It was not listed in the book until the 2008 edition, however.

"I thought it was a big joke. Dr. Brader is known for joking around a lot," McKnight told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "But when he brought (the paperwork) to me, I saw how serious he was."