Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman seriously injured in car accident
JACKSON, Miss. -- Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman has been injured in car accident in Mississippi and is in a hospital in Memphis.
Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Kathy Stringer says Freeman is in serious condition.
The hospital, commonly known as The Med, is an acute-care teaching facility that serves patients within 150 miles of Memphis.
The accident apparently occurred in Tallahatchie County Mississippi, but the sheriff's department referred calls to the Mississippi Highway Patrol. A highway patrol spokesman wasn't immediately available for comment.
Memphis, Tenn., TV station WMC quoted a Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesperson as saying that Freeman's 1997 Nissan Maxima flipped over several times after going off the edge of Highway 32. A female passenger was also in the vehicle with Freeman.
"Emergency crews extracted Freeman and his passenger from their vehicle using the jaws of life," WMC-TV reported. "According to Williams, they were both airlifted to the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, where Freeman was listed in serious condition Monday morning. The condition of Freeman's passenger has not been released."
The Associated Press later added that Freeman "was lucid, conscious" at the accident scene and even kidding with rescue workers.
Bystanders reportedly 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."
Freeman won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2005 for his role in 'Million Dollar Baby.'
With wire services.
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