Freeman Settles Car Crash Lawsuit

Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman has reached an out-of-court settlement with a woman who was his passenger in a car crash and later sued him. Demaris Meyer claimed the 72-year-old had been drinking on the night of the crash in Mississippi and was negligent. Mr Freeman's lawyer refused to disclose the terms of the agreement, but said: "We're all glad it's over with." Ms Meyer's attorney said her client was "pleased that the matter is resolved and the case is settled". As a result of the settlement, Chief Judge Michael Mills of the US District Court, Northern District of Mississippi, dismissed Ms Meyer's legal case on Thursday. The accident occurred when Mr Freeman offered to drive Ms Meyer to his home, near Charleston, following a party in August 2008. Ms Meyer, who lives in Memphis, had sued for medical expenses, pain and suffering, lost wages, permanent disability and property damage. She claimed Freeman had been drinking the night of the accident and had not been paying attention when behind the wheel of the car. She also complained that she was wrongly "labelled as the other woman" after the accident and was "accused of having caused the breakup of Mr Freeman's marriage". It was not long after the crash that it was announced that Mr Freeman's marriage to Myrna Colley-Lee had ended and they were seeking a divorce. Mr Freeman won an Oscar for his performance in 2004's Million Dollar Baby and co-starred in Batman film The Dark Knight. His screen credits also include Bruce Almighty, The Shawshank Redemption and Driving Miss Daisy.