The New Nation - Internet Edition

AP, Jackson

Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was hospitalised 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 Centre in Memphis, Tenn., about 90 miles north of the accident in rural Tallahatchie County. The actor "has a broken arm, broken elbow and minor shoulder damage, but is in good spirits," according to a statement from Donna Lee, Freeman's publicist. A hospital spokeswoman said Freeman was in serious condition but would not discuss his injuries. "He is having a little bit of surgery this afternoon or tomorrow to help correct the damage," Lee's statement said. "He says he'll be OK and is looking forward to a full recovery."

Freeman, who won an Oscar for his role in "Million Dollar Baby," is among the stars in "The Dark Knight," now in theatres. His screen credits also include "Driving Miss Daisy." Freeman and a companion were travelling on a dark, two-lane highway that cuts through the expansive farmlands of the Mississippi Delta when the car ran off the side of the road shortly before midnight Sunday, authorities said.

The vehicle flipped several times but landed upright in a ditch alongside Mississippi Highway 32, about 5 miles west of Charleston, not far from where Freeman owns a home with his wife. Mississippi Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Ben Williams said rescuers had to use the Jaws of Life to remove Freeman from the car.