The Associated Press
MONROEVILLE, Pa. — A construction worker who lost control of an asphalt roller and fell off it on Friday was run over by it but was freed from beneath it and airlifted to a hospital.
The man lost control of the heavy vehicle he was driving in Monroeville, 15 miles east of Pittsburgh, Monroeville police Chief Steven Pascarella said.
Officials at the scene said they believe a hydraulic hose on the roller broke, sending the roller jerking forward.
The man tried to pull the machine, described by police as an asphalt steam roller truck, off the road. But as he pulled over it tipped, throwing him off onto his stomach. The machine rolled over him, trapping him underneath.
Doctors went to the scene and helped free the man, who later was hospitalized in critical condition.
The man, who works for the Cortland, N.Y.-based asphalt products manufacturer Suit-Kote Corp., suffered severe head trauma and blood loss. The company said he was having surgery.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victim and his family,” company spokesman Brian Renne told television station WPXI.