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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — A Winston-Salem man was thrown from his moped when he hit a wire in the road, police say.

The wire threw the man 44 feet as he rode down Knollwood Street.

“I’m just thankful I’m still alive,” Jason Smitherman said.

He knows he’s fortunate.

“I could have been, you know, paralyzed,” Smitherman said.

A doorbell camera captured video of Smitherman tumbling off of his moped.

The fall keeps replaying in his mind.

“I tried my best to stop and I went straight back,” Smitherman said. “Thank God I had my helmet on.”

He wiped away tears as he told FOX8 about the last moments he remembered before blacking out.

“He was mostly in shock,” said Keith Hall, who was one of the first people to check on Smitherman.

The crash happened right in front of his home.

“It appeared he was trying to gain control of his [moped]. He was pulled violently and thrown to the ground,” Hall said. “He rolled a bit.”

Smitherman didn’t want to show FOX8 his broken moped but says he will never get on one again.

“It’s too dangerous,” Smitherman said.

He hopes everyone sees his story and the video, so they never leave home without a helmet.

“The helmet saved me. It saved me,” Smitherman said. “My windshield was gone.”

He has road rash and says he is very sore, but otherwise he is okay.

It is still unclear what brought down the wire or how long it was hanging in the middle of the road.

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