HOVEY TWP, Armstrong County — “Wow.” That was Rick Amsler's initial reaction to seeing the wreckage from an early morning crash today near the Armstrong County-Butler County line.

What the assistant chief of the Parker City Volunteer Fire Department saw was a badly mangled pickup truck partially into a building, the engine compartment smoking and fence boards that had speared through the windshield.

But Amsler's worst fears were soon eased.

The wooden boards barely missed impaling the young driver, who at first appeared trapped but was eventually able to get out on his own.

“It's a miracle he's alive,” Amsler said of the driver, believed to be in his early-20s.

The man, whose name was not immediately released, was flown by medical helicopter to a Pittsburgh hospital with unknown injuries.

State police are investigating the 12:30 a.m. crash but an accident report was not immediately available.

Investigators said the man was traveling south on Route 268 about two miles north of Parker when he lost control of his older model Ford Ranger on a slight bend in the road. The truck crossed over the northbound lane and went off the road.

“It took out at least 50 feet of wooden fence,” Amsler said, “and then it went another 45 feet along an embankment before running into the corner of a building.”

The 24-foot-by-24-foot wood building, covered in vinyl siding, is part of a camping site across the road from the owner's home. The building contains showers, a picnic area and utility room for campers.

The crash badly damaged the building, which was vacant. The pickup got it worse.

Skewered into the windshield were at least two fence boards — each about three-quarters of an inch thick and 5 inches wide.

Firefighters from three departments answered the call. Crews started cutting the truck's roof off to rescue the driver, when he rescued himself.

“He forced his way out the driver's door,” Amsler said.

The man claimed he ended up in his predicament after falling asleep at the wheel.