News came out earlier today that Morgan Freeman was involved in a one-car accident in Mississippi last night in which he and a female passenger had to be cut out of the car, a 1997 Nissan, with the jaws of life. Morgan was airlifted to a hospital 100 miles from the accident, and an official there would only comment that his condition was “serious,” which sounded dire. He was said to be conscious and talking to rescuers at the scene. The Guardian has a quote from a friend of Freeman’s, who says that he has also been sitting up and talking in the hospital. They also have the name of his passenger, and say that the car Freeman was driving belonged to her. That would make sense as it’s an older model.

No drugs or alcohol were thought to be involved in the crash and there is speculation that Freeman fell asleep at the wheel.

Freeman was driving near his home in Charleston, Mississippi, at the time of the accident. The actor and a female companion were cut free by emergency workers before being airlifted to a hospital 90 miles away in Memphis, Tennessee.

Kathy Stringer, a spokeswoman for the regional medical centre in Memphis, described the 71-year-old actor’s condition as “serious”.

The editor of the Charleston Sun Sentinel newspaper, who arrived at the scene shortly after the accident, said Freeman had been conscious and talking to rescuers.

“They had to use the jaws of life [hydraulic cutters] to extract him from the vehicle,” Clay McFerrin said. “He was lucid, conscious. He was talking, joking with some of the rescue workers at one point.”

His account was confirmed by state troopers, who added that Freeman’s 1997 Nissan Maxima had apparently gone off the road. The actor overcorrected, causing the car to flip over several times before coming to a rest.

Mississippi highway patrol sergeant Ben Williams told the Clarion-Ledger newspaper: “Both [occupants] had some injuries, to what extent I do not know.”

Police confirmed that Freeman and his passenger were both wearing seatbelts when the accident happened at 11.30pm.

Williams said the car Freeman had been driving belonged to Demaris Meyer, of Memphis. The car left a rural highway and overturned several times. “There’s no indication that either alcohol or drugs were involved,” Williams said.

There was still no information on Ms Meyer’s condition, he added.

Bill Luckett, a friend of the actor and co-owner of Freeman’s restaurant, Madidi, said he was sitting up and talking at the hospital.

[From Guardian.co.uk]

MTV reports that Freeman was even cracking jokes at the scene, telling people trying to take photos “No freebies! No freebies!” His injuries are thought to be broken ribs and a hurt knee.

That sounds a lot more promising than the earlier reports that he was in serious condition and I hope Freeman is going to be ok. The 71 year-old Oscar winner is next scheduled to work on The Human Factor, based on a book about the 1995 Rugby Cup, and directed by Clint Eastwood. Hopefully he will make a full recovery.

Update: Morgan’s rep tells People that his injuries are a broken arm, elbow, and “shoulder damage,” and it sounds like he’s doing pretty well under the circumstances:

“He has a broken arm, broken elbow and minor shoulder damage but he is in good spirits,” said Donna Lee. “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.”

[From People.com]

Morgan Freeman is shown in the header outside The Late Show on 6/23/08. Credit: HRC/WENN. He is shown below at a screening of Miss Pettigrew on 3/2/08. Credit: PNP/WENN