KEY POINTS:
Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman is getting divorced from his wife of 24 years, costume designer Myrna Colley-Lee.
The news emerges days after Freeman, 71, and a female passenger, Demaris Meyer, 48, were involved in a serious car accident on Sunday near the actor's home in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. The actor suffered a broken arm, broken elbow and minor shoulder injuries.
Mississippi-based attorney Bill Luckett told US TV show Access Hollywood that Freeman and his wife "are involved in a divorce action.
"For legal and practical purposes, [Freeman and Colley-Lee] have been separated since December of 2007."
Luckett, who co-owns a restaurant and club in Clarksdale, Mississippi, with Freeman, also says Meyer, who was a passenger in Freeman's car when it crash on Sunday, has been a friend of the star for some time.
Luckett added that the divorce was in the works before the accident.
The Dark Knight star and Meyer were headed to his home in Charleston, a small town 145km of memphis, when their car veered off a rural road and flipepd at least twice.
Freeman was then airlifted to the Regional Medical Centre in Memphis.
His rep Donna Lee said the actor is "doing well" and is expected to make a full recovery.
Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the crash.
- HERALD ONLINE