ADAMS TWP — Speed is believed to be a factor in an early morning crash Monday that injured the young driver and caused his car’s engine to be thrown a hundred feet or so, authorities said.

The transmission from the 2009 Ford Focus also was propelled 50 or 60 feet after the car slammed into a tree. Other vehicle parts littered the old farm field along Valencia Road at Hutchman Road.

“There was nothing left of the front of the car,” said Chief Bill Hayes of the Adams Area Fire District. “Everything in the engine compartment was ripped out of it.”

Gage Zimmerman, 20, of Adams Township, the driver, was taken to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh and is in fair condition.

Zimmerman was speeding northbound on Valencia Road shortly after 1 a.m. when he lost control of the car, Adams Police Chief Shawn Anglum said.

Investigators said there were skid marks and yaw marks on both sides of the road, indicating the driver traveled back and forth between lanes in an attempt to regain control of the vehicle.

But the car went off the east side of the road and hit the tree with such force that it sent parts flying.

The driver was conscious and surprisingly, Hayes said, he did not appear to be in a lot of pain. He had cuts to his face and head and possible internal injuries.

He also was wearing a seat belt.

“That might have saved his life,” Hayes said. The car’s front and side air bags also deployed.