Steam roller tips over on worker

A 36-year-old construction worker was trapped under a small steam roller on Landon Lane in Dale City at about 10 a.m. Monday, as a fellow worker was unloading the roller from its trailer.

Jeff Jent was trapped momentarily before co-worker Jimmy George, 46, pushed the yellow and brown roller it on its side.

Jent was behind the trailer as George was unloading it. When he shifted his weight, the roller started to tip, George said at the scene Monday. He tried to grab one of the gear shifters to no avail.

The roller fell.

The men were on Landon to repave a driveway at the end of the street’s cul-de-sac.

Jent was listed in fair condition at Potomac Hospital Monday. A hospital spokeswoman said emergency room officials had not decided as of Monday afternoon whether they would admit him.

A MedStar helicopter was initially called to the scene, but was called off because Jent’s injuries did not warrant an emergency flight to a trauma center. Firefighters set up a landing zone for the helicopter on the lawn of Enterprise Elementary School on Lindendale Road.

The roller remained on its side and the boards that were at the back of the trailer were on the ground nearby. Accident investigators photographed the entire scene.