Update: From The Clairon-Ledger, Actor Morgan Freeman suffered some broken bones in a car accident Sunday, but will recover, friends said this afternoon.
Freeman, 71, and a passenger, Demaris Meyer, age unknown, were airlifted to a Memphis hospital following a single-car accident around 11:30 pm. Meyer's condition was not immediately available. Freeman's business partner, Bill Luckett of Clarksdale, visited with the actor at the hospital today and said Freeman will be fine. "He's resting quietly and has some fractures. Nothing life-threatening. Nothing permanent," Luckett said. "He's in good spirits, but he's in some pain." Filmmaker Paul Saltzman said Freeman suffered a broken shoulder and a broken arm and expected recovery time will be six to eight weeks. According to CBS news, Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was injured in a car accident late Sunday night and is in a hospital in Memphis, Tenn.
Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Kathy Stringer said Freeman, 71, is in serious condition. The hospital is about 90 miles north of the accident scene in rural Tallahatchie County in the Mississippi Delta.
Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Ben Williams confirmed Freeman was in a wreck shortly before midnight Sunday, but said he was still gathering information and had few details Monday.
Clay McFerrin, editor of Sun Sentinel in Charleston, said he arrived at the accident scene on Mississippi Highway 32 soon after it happened about 4 miles west of Charleston, not far from where Freeman owns a home with his wife.
McFerrin said it appeared that Freeman's car was airborne went it left the highway and landed in a ditch.
'They had to use the jaws of life to extract him from the vehicle,' McFerrin said. 'He was lucid, conscious. He was talking, joking with some of the rescue workers at one point.'
McFerrin said bystanders converged on the scene trying to get a glimpse of the actor.
When one person tried to snap a photo with a cell phone camera, Freeman joked, 'no freebies, no freebies,' McFerrin said.
The hospital where Freeman is being treated is commonly known as The Med, and is an acute-care teaching facility that serves patients within 150 miles of Memphis.
Morgan Freeman Pictures
The Regional Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn. is photographed on Monday, Aug. 4, 2008. Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was hospitalized here in serious condition Monday after the car he was driving left a rural road in the Mississippi Delta and flipped several times. Freeman, 71, was airlifted to the Regional Medical Center, about 90 miles north of the accident in rural Tallahatchie County. (AP Photo/Greg Campbell)
AP
U.S. actor Morgan Freeman takes part in the first day of shooting of "Batman: The Dark Knight" in Hong Kong in this November 9, 2007 file photo. Freeman was in serious condition in a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on August 4, 2008 after being injured in a road accident, authorities said. REUTERS/Herbert Tsang/Files (CHINA)
Reuters
U.S. actor Morgan Freeman poses at the premiere of "The Bucket List " in London in this January 23, 2008 file photo. Freeman was in serious condition in a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital on August 4, 2008 after being injured in a road accident, authorities said. REUTERS/Anthony Harvey/Files (UNITED KINGDOM)
Reuters
** FILE ** In this March 5, 2008 file photo, actor Morgan Freeman attends a Cinema Society screening of "Married Life" in New York. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, file)
AP
(FILES) File picture of US actor Morgan Freeman posing on the red carpet prior to the German Premiere of the movie "The Bucket list" directed by Rob Reiner, on January 21, 2008 in Berlin. Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was being treated in hospital after being involved in a serious car crash near Ruleville, Mississipi, officials said on August 04, 2008.. AFP PHOTO DDP/MARCUS BRANDT/FILES GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read MARCUS BRANDT/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
(FILES) US actor Morgan Freeman delivers remarks at a National Press Club luncheon event at which he was the guest of honor in this 18 December 2007 file photo in Washington, DC. Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was in a "critical" condition in hospital after being involved in a serious car crash, US media reports said on August 4,2008. AFP PHOTO/Paul J. RICHARDS (Photo credit should read PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/Getty Images)
AFP/Getty Images
(L-R) Actors Chin Han, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart, Morgan Freeman and Director Christopher Nolan attend the premiere of "The Dark Knight" at AMC Loews Lincoln Center on July 14, 2008 in New York City.."The Dark Knight" New York Premiere - Inside Arrivals.AMC Loews Lincoln Center.New York, NY United States.July 14, 2008.Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com..To license this image (55306961), contact WireImage.com
WireImage.com
(L-R) Actors Chin Han, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman attend the premiere of "The Dark Knight" at AMC Loews Lincoln Center on July 14, 2008 in New York City.."The Dark Knight" New York Premiere - Inside Arrivals.AMC Loews Lincoln Center.New York, NY United States.July 14, 2008.Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com..To license this image (55306953), contact WireImage.com
WireImage.com
Actor Morgan Freeman (R) and guest attend the premiere of "The Dark Knight" at AMC Loews Lincoln Center on July 14, 2008 in New York City.."The Dark Knight" New York Premiere - Inside Arrivals.AMC Loews Lincoln Center.New York, NY United States.July 14, 2008.Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com..To license this image (55306838), contact WireImage.com
WireImage.com
(L-R) Actors Chin Han, guest, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Christian Bale, Maggie Gyllenhaal, director Christopher Nolan, actors Morgan Freeman, Aaron Eckhart, guest and Nestor Carbonell attend the premiere of "The Dark Knight" at AMC Loews Lincoln Center on July 14, 2008 in New York City.."The Dark Knight" New York Premiere - Inside Arrivals.AMC Loews Lincoln Center.New York, NY United States.July 14, 2008.Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com..To license this image (55307046), contact WireImage.com
WireImage.com
1. I'm glad Morgan Freeman is okay.
Q at 11:46PM on Aug 4th 2008