Pictured: Morgan Freeman Injured In Smashed Vehicle - With Emerging Details On Accident Which Nearly Took His Life
Mangled wreckage: The horrific car crash scene. The actor’s body (circled) had to be cut free from the wreckage.
This is the mangled wreckage of Morgan Freeman’s car after the horrifying crash which left the actor fighting for his life.
The 71-year-old was airlifted to hospital with multiple broken bones following the accident near his home in Mississippi.
The Oscar-winning star and a female passenger were cut free from the vehicle after it veered off the highway and flipped over several times before ending up in a ditch.
Passenger: Demaris Meyer was flown to a hospital in Memphis. Her condition is unknown as yet
Morgan’s wife, Myrna, not in the vehicle
Crash debris: The rear view mirror lies in the grassy bank when the car crashed
Freeman was driving a 1997 Nissan Maxima when the smash happened at 11.30pm on Sunday night near his home in Mississippi, where he lives with his wife Myrna.
Emergency crews flew Freeman and his passenger, Demaris Meyer, to a hospital in Memphis more than 100 miles away.
Crash scene: The accident happened near the actor’s home in Mississippi
His spokesperson said in a statement: ‘He has a broken arm, broken elbow and minor shoulder damage but he is in good spirits.
‘He is going to have surgery this afternoon or tomorrow to correct the damage.
‘He says he’ll be okay and is looking forward to a full recovery.’
A hospital spokesman had earlier described his condition as ‘serious’.
Freeman, who won an Oscar for best supporting actor in Million Dollar Baby in 2005, appears in the latest Batman film, The Dark Knight, which was released in Britain two weeks ago.
He is the latest cast member of the Batman film to be hit with bad fortune.
Tragedy hit the film when Heath Ledger died of a drug overdose while filming the role of Joker.
The actor has been tipped for a posthumous Oscar for his critically-acclaimed performance.
The ‘curse’ of the Dark knight first struck when a technician was killed in a stunt car crash while the film was in production.
Leading man Christian Bale was the next to be hit by bad luck when he was arrested for assault on the eve of the London premiere.
There is still no information on Freeman’s passenger Miss Meyer’s condition and her link to the star of Driving Miss Daisy and The Shawshank Redemption is not yet known.
A Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman said Miss Meyer, of Memphis, owned the car Freeman was driving.
The wreckage was swiftly removed from the crash scene for investigation, but debris from the vehicle was found strewn across the bank.
The car’s rear view mirror was found amongst the grassy bank alongside the highway.
He said there was ‘no indication that either alcohol or drugs were involved,’ and both had been wearing seatbelts.
The police refused to comment on reports that Freeman had fallen asleep at the wheel.
Clay McFerrin, editor of the Sun Sentinel in Charleston, Mississippi, said he arrived soon after the accident happened on Sunday night.
Mr McFerrin said Freeman ‘was lucid, conscious.
‘He was talking, joking with some of the rescue workers at one point’
He said bystanders tried to take photographs at the rescue scene, prompting Freeman to joke: ‘No freebies, no freebies.’
‘They had to use the Jaws of Life (hydraulic cutters) to extract him from the vehicle,’ he said.
Freeman’s other major roles have included parts in Driving Miss Daisy and Shawshank Redemption, for each of which he received Oscar nominations, and Bruce Almighty.
Freeman lives in Mississippi in a 126-acre ranch near Charleston and also has a home in New York.
He has a daughter, Morgana, from his previous marriage to Jeanette Bradshaw, which ended in 1979.
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