His blood alcohol was 17 times the legal limit.

An amazing case of alcohol tolerance. Had he survived, he would be in Guinness! Bacchus rest his soul. From Reuters.

RIGA (Reuters) - A drunk Latvian had a blood-alcohol content more than 17 times the legal driving limit in the Baltic state when he was run over and killed, police said Tuesday.

The 50-year-old unnamed pedestrian, who also had more than twice the alcohol level considered lethal for most humans, was lying drunk on the road near his home in a remote part of eastern Latvia in the early hours.

Police said the man had probably been drinking home-made alcohol for several days because of the impossibility of reaching his blood-alcohol level of 0.9 percent in just a day.

They said the man was alive when he was run over by a car, creating a probable although unenviable record for alcohol consumption in hard-drinking Latvia.

"The cause of death has been marked down as a road accident, although the alcohol level would most likely have killed him anyway," said state police spokeswoman Kristine Mezaraupe.

Latvia, an ex-Soviet state which is still one of the poorest in the European Union, has a problem with heavy drinking, especially among men who have an average life expectancy of 66 years compared with 77 years for women.