Academy Award-winner Morgan Freeman was involved in a serious car accident Sunday night in Mississippi, Access Hollywood has learned.
Freeman, who currently stars in “The Dark Knight,” and a female passenger, Demaris Meyer, were driving on Mississippi Highway 32 in a rural area of Tallahatchie County approximately four miles west of Charleston at 11:30 PM when Freeman’s car went off the right side of the road and proceeded to flip over. The doors were jammed on the vehicle and both of them had to be removed from the car with the jaws of life, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Highway Patrol confirmed to Access.
Though the accident was serious, Freeman was conscious as he was pulled him from the car, according to Clay McFerrin, editor of the Sun Sentinel in Charleston, who was on the scene of the accident.
“He was lucid, conscious,” McFerrin told the Associated Press. “He was talking, joking with some of the rescue workers at one point.”
When an onlooker attempted to take a photo with a cell phone, Freeman joked, “no freebies, no freebies,” McFerrin told the AP.
Freeman and Meyer were airlifted to Regional Medical Center in Memphis, where the actor is currently listed in serious condition, Access has confirmed.
“Morgan has a broken arm, elbow and has minor shoulder damage but was in good spirits when I spoke with him a short time ago in Memphis at Memphis Regional Center,” a rep for Freeman told Access in statement. “He is having a some surgery this afternoon or tomorrow to help correct the damage. He says he’ll be OK and is looking forward to a full recovery.”
Freeman’s car appeared to have gone airborne from the highway into a ditch, according to McFerrin.
The accident is currently under investigation, but no alcohol was involved, Mississippi Highway Patrol told Access. The spokesperson went on to say that no charges have been filed against Freeman.
Freeman won an Oscar for his work in 2004’s “Million Dollar Baby.”
The veteran actor owns a home in Charleston, Miss, and is also a co-owner of a blues club and a restaurant in Clarksdale, Miss., which is near where the accident took place.
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