Steamroller careens down slope in San Juan Capistrano

An out-of-control steamroller careened down a San Juan Capistrano embankment Tuesday afternoon, injuring the operator's left leg and crashing into a nearby patio.

The roller was being used on a slope near a private road at a home construction site near the 31000 block of Harmony Hall Court when the operator lost control just after 4 p.m., said Lt. Fred Furey of the Orange County Sheriff's Department. Somehow after the man got off the roller, it began moving and caused an injury to his lower left leg, said Capt. Greg McKeown of the Orange County Fire Authority.

Officials believe the roller may have run over the man's leg, but could not confirm that is how the injury occurred. Authorities declined to release his name. He was taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo with moderate leg injuries.

The steamroller lurched 60 feet down the hillside, causing heavy damage to a patio awning on the house below and minor damage to the home itself, McKeown said.

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susannah.rosenblatt @latimes.com