The family of pastor Bert Vaughn say they are grateful for the prayers and the “baby-steps” as he recovers from a car wreck.

“He’s resting comfortably. He’s been alert and awake,” said Jesse Vaughn, his son and local at-torney.

Vaughn, 60, the pastor at the First Baptist of Calhoun, was flown via LifeFlight on Friday after the Tahoe he was driving struck a Chevrolet Colorado on Spur 53. Vaughn has injuries consistent with that type of wreck, said Jesse Vaughn, including broken ribs, cracked pelvis, and bruised lung.

Although he’s breathing on his own, he has a tube down his windpipe to help get enough volume in his lungs, his son said.

“Anyone who knows dad, knows that he just doesn’t like that,” said Jesse Vaughn. “He’s not the most patient of patience.”

But the hospital has had a little chuckle at all the calls from the media inquiring about Vaughn’s progress.

“They said they didn’t realize they have a small town celebrity,” Jesse Vaughn said. “To us, he’s just a dad, husband, and father-in-law, but it’s time like this we’ve seen the impact he’s had on the community. He’s on quite a few prayer lists, even a couple of synagogues’.”

The wreck is still under investigation, according to Georgia State Patrol, but the initial report states that Vaughn was attempting to turn left onto Spur 53 from Fair’s Auto Shop, when he struck the truck, driven by Franklin Hudson of Rome.

The family has setup a website for him at www.caringbridge.com. To access it, type bertvaughn, all lowercase, all together.

“We see how bad it could have been,” said Jesse Vaughn, “so we’re thankful for where he’s at.”

It will still take a lot of time, he added. The doctor has said the bruising on the lung will get “a lit-tle worse” before it gets better and they haven’t discussed when he can move out of the trauma unit.

“Our goal right now is deep slow breathes to build up his lung capacity,” he said. “He wants to jump out of bed and get back to life as normal.”

Jesse Vaughn said the outpouring of support has made the thankful to live in a community like Calhoun, but they are discouraging visitors to the hospital because only immediate family is allowed to see him.