Four men remained hospitalized Tuesday following two separatebut similar paving accidents that injured a total of five peopleMonday morning on West Lincoln Drive, officials said.

Two men were recovering at the Mississippi Firefighters MemorialBurn Center in Greenville. Two others were at King’s DaughtersMedical Center.

District One road employee Jack Hall; David Edney, a county jailinmate assigned to a road crew; and James Bell, of Laurel, aprivate truck driver, were hit with hot tar when a liquid asphaltspreader hose burst just after 8 a.m. on West Lincoln Drive nearthe intersection of Highway 84.

Bobby Smith, of District Two, and Johnny Allen, of DistrictFour, were injured in a similar mishap later Monday morning whenthe three other men were being treated at KDMC.

Hall and Edney remained at the burn center in Greenville.

“We’re doing all right,” Hall said Tuesday morning. “It wasn’tas bad as it looked like it was.”

Hall said tar sprayed on his face and arms. He suffered majorburns on his face, right arm and right hand.

Hall said the men were fortunate the tar, which was estimated ataround 250 degrees, was not hotter than it was. The paving materialmust be over 300 degrees to be used and was in the process of beingsent back to the supplier when the accident happened, countyofficials said.

Edney was recovering in the same room at the burn center, Hallsaid. Edney received some burn spots on his neck.

“He’s doing pretty good,” Hall said.

Hall said he and Edney were flown from KDMC and arrived at theburn center around noon. The patients were in the cleaning process,which involved mayonnaise and mineral oils, until around 4 p.m.,Hall said.

“They had to just about rub that stuff off,” Hall said.

Hall did not know how long he and Edney would have to stay atthe burn center.

Bell and Allen were admitted to KDMC following theaccidents.

George Bennett, owner of U-N-US Trucking in Meridian, said Bell,who worked out of the service’s Laurel plant, was expected to beback home Tuesday.

“He wasn’t hurt very bad at all,” Bennett said.

District Four Supervisor W.D. “Doug” Moak spoke to his employeeTuesday morning and said he was in good spirits.

“I feel like he’ll be able to go home sometime today,” Moak saidof Allen.

Smith was treated and released, a KDMC spokesperson said.

In the incidents, Moak said crews were trying to pump the liquidasphalt from the county’s spreading machine back into a tankerafter the paving material was deemed too cool for use.

“It just wasn’t working,” Moak said of the asphalt after it hadbeen given a short road test.

Moak said crews were completing the transfer process when thesecond accident happened. He estimated the temperature of the tarin the second accident to be a little less than 250 degrees.

“It’s just a bad deal,” Moak said. “I never thought it wouldhappen twice in a row like that.”

Moak and Lincoln County Safety Coordinator Clifford Galey saidrepresentatives of the county vehicle manufacturer were coming toinspect the vehicle.

“We really feel like it needs to be checked out before we put itback in operation,” Galey said.