Matthew Broderick - Personal Life

Personal Life

On August 5, 1987, Broderick was in a car accident in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, while vacationing with Jennifer Grey, whom he had begun dating in semi-secrecy during the filming of Ferris Bueller's Day Off. The accident, which was the event through which their relationship became public, occurred when the rented BMW Broderick was driving crossed into the wrong lane and collided head-on into a Volvo driven by a local mother and daughter, Anna Gallagher 28, and Margaret Doherty 63, who were killed instantly in the accident. Broderick suffered a fractured leg, fractured ribs, a concussion, and a collapsed lung. Grey received minor injuries, including severe whiplash. Broderick told authorities he had no recollection of the crash and did not know why he was in the wrong lane. "I don't remember the day. I don't remember even getting up in the morning. I don't remember making my bed. What I first remember is waking up in the hospital, with a very strange feeling going on in my leg," he said at the time. Broderick was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and faced up to five years behind bars, but was later convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving and fined $175, which the victims' family called "a travesty of justice." Martin Doherty, whose sister and mother were killed in the crash, later stated that he forgave Broderick, amid plans to meet with Broderick in 2003, in order to gain a sense of closure. As of 2012, the meeting has not taken place.