PARKER — A man was injured early Monday morning when he lost control of his Jeep, smashed through two Jersey barriers and crashed into the side of a grocery store in the Armstrong County city, authorities said.

A medical helicopter flew the man, whose name was not released, to a Pittsburgh hospital with unknown injuries after the wreck about 2 a.m. at Welter's County Market on North River Avenue.

State police are investigating but an accident report was not immediately available. The store, which was badly damaged, was closed at the time.

The driver, believed to be in his 50s, was traveling toward Parker across the Route 368 bridge over the Allegheny River when he crossed over North River Avenue, also known as Route 268, and “kept on going,” said Rick Amsler, assistant chief of the Parker Volunteer Fire Department.

“Long story short,” said store owner Tim Welter Jr., “it plowed right into the side of the building.”

But before hitting the cement block, brick building, the Jeep traveled through the pair of Jersey barriers.

Amsler said it appeared that the left, front of the vehicle hit and traveled up the barriers.

“The Jeep landed on the passenger side with the bottom of the vehicle up against the side of the building,” Amsler said, describing the scene.

Those concrete barriers, Welter said, had been placed there to prevent runaway vehicles from hitting the store. They didn't work as he hoped, he acknowledged, but the vehicle didn't penetrate the building.