ST. GEORGE — A piece of construction equipment being used for surface road work lost control and tipped over at the bottom of a steep hillside Thursday afternoon.

The incident occurred just before 3:30 p.m. along about a 250-yard stretch of Skyline Drive, including where it passes its T-intersection with Hope Street.

The heavy vehicle, a pneumatic asphalt roller, apparently experienced “mechanical failure” when a hydraulic hose ruptured, preventing its operator from being able to bring it to a stop on the steep hillside, a foreman for the construction company told St. George News at the scene.

When the vehicle reached the bottom of the hill toward the south end of Skyline Drive, it tipped onto its side in the middle of the roadway. No other vehicles were involved in the crash.

The operator, who remained within the vehicle’s open-air seating area, was able to walk away with only minor injuries, including a few scrapes and bruises. The foreman said he planned to take the driver to a medical care facility for evaluation.

Crews from the St. George Fire Department along with the city’s streets department were on hand to help clean up the spilled hydraulic fluid from the roadway using sand, rakes and shovels, after which a street sweeper truck came along to finish the job.

St. George Police officers also responded to the scene.

Skyline Drive was closed to through traffic for more than an hour while the scene was cleared.

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