(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-11 11:20

BEIJING -- A 29-year-old volunteer firefight/paramedic from Connellsville, Pennsylvania, holds a Guinness Book of World Records mark that he hopes no one will surpass.

Matthew McKnight was struck October 26, 2001 by a car traveling 70 mph while he was assisting accident victims along Interstate 376 in Monroeville and was thrown 118 feet, giving him the record for "Greatest Distance Thrown in a Car Accident" in the book's 2008 edition.

McKnight 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.

Dr. Eric Brader, McKnights, emergency room physician, 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."