A bicyclist was run over by a loaded semi-truck while trying to cross the intersection of 10th Street and Greenville Boulevard in heavy traffic shortly before 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Attempts to learn his condition Tuesday night at Pitt County Memorial Hospital were unsuccessful.

The accident victim was Jesse Earley, according to his father-in-law, Alfred Moraca, who was with him at the time.

The two were on their bikes at the northwest corner of 10th Street, near Walgreens, when the light turned green for them to cross Greenville Boulevard, Moraca said.

"We were returning home from the Food Lion with a few things, and we stopped right here for the light," Moraca said, standing in front of Earley's crushed bicycle.

Rush-hour traffic was halted in all directions, and police, who arrived shortly after the accident, were still on the scene with the truck hours later. Traffic was blocked in all four directions until after 8 p.m.

Moraca said he was behind Earley when the accident occurred. He said when the light changed to green, they both started to cross Greenville Boulevard toward Hastings Ford, with Earley leading the way. "The truck came right around the corner and ran right over him," Moraca said. "We had the right of way."

Witnesses say the truck was driving from east to west on 10th Street before turning right onto Greenville Boulevard.

Moraca said Earley tried to return to the corner sidewalk when he saw the truck turning, but was unable to avoid its right-side tires.

"It ran over his chest and torso," Moraca said. "He didn't move again after that."

Earley did open his eyes momentarily, Moraca said, but that was the only sign of movement or consciousness he displayed.

An engine from Greenville Fire-Rescue arrived within moments and personnel began to attend to Earley, Moraca said. An ambulance arrived minutes later.

A woman who was stopped at the intersection said she saw the truck run over Earley as he tried to return to the sidewalk.

The woman, who did not give her name, said she went from her car to Earley's side, checked his pulse, which she said she detected, and saw him open his eyes momentarily.

"When I looked, the truck had caught his back wheels, then took him under as he was trying to get away from it," the woman said.

The 18-wheeler is owned by Murphy-Brown Inc., and was hauling hog feed, according to the driver, who did not give any other information. Police had not released more information by late Tuesday night.

Ashley Stone, 20, an East Carolina University student, said she also witnessed the collision.

"I was sitting in my car and watched the bike enter the intersection, then watched the truck make the turn," Stone said. "I saw the man on the bike try to move backwards, the I saw the bike on the ground."

She said she called 911 on her cell phone. She said she pulled her car over when the light turned green and continued to give information to the dispatcher over the phone.

"I'm only 20 years old," a visibly shaken Stone said. "I never expected to see something like this in my life."

Moraca said he was concerned about his daughter, who is Earley's wife. He said she is pregnant, due near the end of the month.

"I'm afraid to tell her about this," he said. "I wish it happened to me; I have nothing to lose, but he has a wife and a baby on the way."

The family had recently moved to J.T. Williams Apartments from the Red Carpet Motel, Moraca said.

"He had just told me that, if anything should happen to him, he wanted me to take care of his wife and raise the baby for him," Moraca said, "and then this happened."