Freeman

AP:

Morgan Freeman is seriously ill in hospital after the car he was driving overturned several times, United States authorities said.

The Oscar-winning actor was airlifted to the Regional Medical Centre in Memphis, Tennessee, where his condition was described as "serious" following the crash on a highway in rural Mississippi shortly before midnight local time on Sunday night.

The 71-year-old actor broke his shoulder and arm in the accident, but is expected to make a "good" recovery, Freeman's spokesman told showbiz website TMZ.com.

Highway Patrol spokesman Sergeant Ben Williams said Freeman was driving a 1997 Nissan Maxima which belonged to Demaris Meyer, of Memphis, when the car left a rural highway and overturned several times.

Seatbelts

"There's no indication that either alcohol or drugs were involved," Mr Williams said. He added that both Freeman and Ms Meyer were wearing seatbelts.

There was still no information on Ms Meyer's condition, he said.

The crash happened north of the small town of Ruleville in rural Tallahatchie County in the Mississippi Delta.

Freeman was airlifted from the accident scene to the hospital, around 90 miles away in Memphis, Tennessee, where he is being treated.

State troopers told TMZ.com that the Oscar-winning actor was talking before he was taken to the hospital.

Freeman, who won an Oscar in 2005 for his role in Million Dollar Baby, lives near Charleston with his wife, Myrna, on a 126-acre ranch.