SHORELINE, Wash. -- The operator of an excavator was taken to the hospital after a tree fell on top of him, trapping him inside the excavator on Wednesday.

The accident happened around 3 p.m. at a construction site near Northeast 192nd Street and 15th Avenue Northeast, next to Guitarville, a music equipment store.

The weight of the toppled tree crushed the cab of the excavator, and fire crews spent nearly an hour trying to extricate the operator.

When the man was finally freed, he was alert and conscious, fire officials said. He was taken to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, but is said to be in satisfactory condition.

The man's name is not known, and it is not known what had caused the tree to topple.