A painful recovery for truck driver

A tow truck driver who was horribly burned when a volcanic steam explosion engulfed his rig is conscious and able to communicate with his family, but will be bedridden in a hospital for the foreseeable future, his lawyer said.

Gregory McCullough and a female passenger were swallowed by a  scalding geyser when a Con Edison pipe burst beneath a midtown Manhattan street on July 18.

The explosion tore a deep crater in the street and created a monstrous eruption of steam and water that hurled debris, smashed windows and battered bystanders. One fleeing woman died of a heart attack.

McCullough's entire body was burned. He spent weeks in a coma, induced bydoctors to prevent him from feeling pain.

Now he is awake again, but he hasn't walked since the accident and doctors remain guarded about his future, said one of his lawyers, Derek Sells.

"Greg is doing somewhat better," Sells said. "He is still having a very, very difficult and painful rehabilitation that's going to go on for some months.

"We are hopeful that he can make a significant recovery," Sells said.

Attorneys for McCullough and his less severely burned passenger, Judith Bailey, have filed a lawsuit against Con Ed.

They also recently filed a legal demand with the city, opening the door for a possible lawsuit if investigators determine that the city failed to respond to complaints about leaking steam in the spot where the blast took place. The families are also waiting to see whether it is possible that an external force, like a broken water main, triggered the rupture.

"We firmly believe that Con Ed is to blame for the explosion," Sells said.

"But we also have some belief that Con Ed may try to blame the city, either in part or in whole, for that explosion."

Con Ed officials have declined to comment on the lawsuit but have expressed sympathy to the victims for their injuries.