Morgan Freeman released from hospital

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oscar winner Morgan Freeman said he was feeling "real good" on Thursday after his release from a Memphis, Tennessee, hospital where he was treated for broken bones and other injuries from a weekend car crash.

Freeman, 71, lost control of the car he was driving late on Sunday night near a home he keeps in Charleston, Mississippi, and was airlifted to the trauma center of the Regional Medical Center in Memphis, about 100 miles away.

"I left the hospital today, just after 12 noon, Memphis time," the co-star of the blockbuster Batman movie "The Dark Knight" said in a brief statement.

"I'm doing very well. I feel real good."

He concluded by thanking hospital staff and well-wishers, saying, "It's great to know people care about you."

Freeman's publicist, Donna Lee, said on Monday the actor suffered a broken arm and elbow and "minor shoulder damage" but was expected to make a full recovery after undergoing surgery.

The celebrity news TV show "Entertainment Tonight" reported on its website that Freeman underwent surgery on Monday to reconnect nerves and repair damage to his left arm and hand.

A passenger and owner of the car Freeman was driving, a female friend identified as Demaris Meyer, was also injured, but no information has been released regarding her condition.

Lee said Freeman and his wife of 24 years are in the midst of a divorce and had been estranged for some time.

Police ruled out alcohol as a factor in the crash and said it was possible Freeman had fallen asleep at the wheel when the car careened off the highway and rolled over several times.

No other vehicle was involved and no citation was issued in connection with the accident.

Freeman won an Oscar in 2005 for his supporting role in Clint Eastwood's boxing drama "Million Dollar Baby." He also earned Oscar nominations for his work in the films "Street Smart," "Driving Miss Daisy" and "The Shawshank Redemption."

Reuters/Nielsen