Matthew McKnight holds a death-defying world record that not even the most courageous daredevil would seek to break.Six years ago, McKnight , of Fayette County, Pa., was struck by a car doing 70 mph along Interstate 376 in Monroeville while he was trying to aid two accident victims.
He was thrown 118 feet -- about the height of a 12-story building -- and lived to tell the tale.
For his pains, and there were plenty of them, McKnight became the holder of a Guinness World Records mark in 2003. And just last month he discovered that his feat -- unsolicited as it was -- finally earned a hard-copy entry in the encyclopedia of superlatives' 2008 edition.
"Greatest Distance Thrown in a Car Accident," trumpets the headline above a brief description.
McKnight, a paramedic and volunteer firefighter, has some heady company on page 69, including "Largest Tummy Tuck Operation" (132 pounds of fat removed), "Highest Body Temperature" (115.7 degrees), and "Largest Gall Bladder Stone Removed" (7 by 5 by 3.7 inches).
While the record is not exactly the kind of accomplishment anyone would strive for, a Guinness representative did not hesitate to compliment McKnight, 29, upon verifying his winning documentation.
"I am pleased to inform you that you have been successful in setting a new Guinness World Record," the July 2003 letter states.
McKnight was nominated by Mercy Hospital's Dr. Eric Brader, who was the emergency room's attending physician on Oct. 26, 2001, when McKnight was brought in at death's door with six broken bones.
Brader could not be reached for comment. But McKnight noted that the physician has a somewhat different sense of humor.
To see McKnight today, one wouldn't guess that he had once broken his pelvis, shoulder, lower leg and tailbone. He walks without a limp, said he pops only an occasional over-the-counter painkiller and is back to fighting fires and rescuing those in need.
McKnight said he wouldn't hesitate to stop by the side of the road to help someone again and, in fact, has done so several times.
As for his record, McKnight is in no hurry to best it -- nor, he said, is anyone else.
"It's not something that someone wants to try to beat."
