The driver of a car that was cut in half by a tractor-trailer truck on U.S. 1 Tuesday remains hospitalized, and family members say he was more seriously injured than originally reported.

Bryan Vancleave, 46, of Southern Pines, was leaving his job at UPS when he pulled out of Air Tool Drive in front of the truck heading north on U.S. 1.

The impact separated the car right behind the front seats, sending the rear of the four-door Ford Taurus into the southbound lanes while the front of the car with Vancleave still inside rested in the median strip. The truck, driven by Deon Kennedy, 47, of Columbia, S.C., went through the median, eventually stopping in the southbound lanes.

Vancleave's sister, Vanessa, and his cousin, Temperance Roland, told The Pilot Thursday that his injuries include a broken shoulder blade, broken jaw, and injured collarbone. He has also been suffering from high blood pressure. They said he is still in excruciating pain.

"My brother is blessed, but he is indeed hurt and is in the hospital," Vanessa Vancleave said.

Both said that they had hoped Vancleave would be discharged Wednesday, but doctors decided against it because he is in so much pain. They expect him to undergo more X-rays and CAT scans.

They said Vancleave is alert and talking but has no recollection of the accident other than emergency workers asking, "Is he dead?" when they arrived on the scene.

Mike Cameron, assistant chief of the Southern Pines Fire Department, was one of the first emergency workers on the scene. He said that the department got the call at 1:07 p.m. As he approached the scene of the wreck that had sent debris spilling across the four lanes, he said that "I was thinking the worst."

"The car took a direct hit," Cameron said. "The impact was just behind the driver's door. The driver was extremely lucky. We had to remove the roof of the car to get to him."

Vancleave was taken to FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital. Kennedy was not injured.

Cameron said that Kennedy, whose truck careened from the inside northbound lane across the median and into the southbound lanes after the collision, did "a good job to keep from hitting any other vehicles" on the heavily-traveled highway.

Four wreckers were used to remove the vehicles, with three needed to remove the car and one for the truck that suffered damage to the front end.

The Southern Pines Police Department is investigating the incident.

"Very fortunate," Cameron said. "The driver of the car was very fortunate."

Contact John Krahnert III at 693-2473 or by e-mail at jkrahnert@thepilot.com. Contact Hunter Chase at 693-2478 or by e-mail at hchase@thepilot.com