A construction worker suffered life-threatening injuries early Thursday after being pinned under a paving machine on state Highway 500, officials said.

Firefighters were dispatched to the incident just before 3:30 a.m. on west Highway 500 just east of the 39th St. exit.

Crews arrived a few minutes later and found a man had been backed over by a paving machine, said Kevin Stromberg, spokesman for the Vancouver Fire Department. Crews asked for assistance from the Region 4 Technical Rescue Team, which specializes in difficult extrications.

Crews used a front-end loader to lift the machine off the man, who was conscious and alert the entire time, Stromberg said. Firefighters placed lumber under the lifted machine to make sure it wouldn’t fall back on the victim.

“It’s a pretty extensive operation,” Stromberg said.

The man, identified by Washington State Patrol as Justin Pitts, was freed by about 4:04 a.m. and sent to PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Later in the day, he was transferred to Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland, where he was listed in critical condition.