NORTHAMPTON - A Northampton man who broke his back in a car crash in Montague Wednesday morning remains hospitalized in critical condition at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

Paul Bissex, 40, was driving onto Route 63 at around 8 a.m. when his car collided with a pickup truck driven by David Rowe, 39, of Northfield, Montague police say.

Bissex, a software designer and Internet consultant, is an instructor at the Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turners Falls. He was on his way to work when the accident occurred.

According to Lou Cove, a family friend, Bissex suffered two broken bones in his spine as well as a head injury.

"There is some bleeding involved but the surgeons do not feel the need to operate at this time. This condition is considered stable," Cove said in an email today.

"Most recently, Paul regained some consciousness, was able to respond to certain commands (raise two fingers, open your eyes) and he acknowledged (his wife) Kathleen's presence and seemed to understand that he is in the hospital."

Cove said updates about Bissex's condition will be posted at http://forpaul.wordpress.com.

Bissex is the founder of E-Scribe.com, a Web development consulting business and, in 1997, co-founded the Yes Computer Learning Centers in Northampton, where he taught Web design to hundreds of students.

He is also associated with The Well, on online community and has written for technology journals.

In addition to teaching at Hallmark in Turners Falls, he is the school's director of software development.