Jay Leno has revealed that he was injured in a motorcycle accident just months after suffering severe facial burns that left him hospitalized.
The well-known former talk-show host told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he had been knocked off his bike on January 17. The accident left him with a broken collarbone, two broken ribs and two cracked kneecaps.
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The 72-year-old, who has a comedy stand-up residency in Las Vegas, said he had been riding his 1940 Indian motorcycle when he suddenly smelled leaking gasoline.
“So I turned down a side street and cut through a parking lot, and unbeknownst to me, some guy had a wire strung across the parking lot but with no flag hanging from it,” Leno said.
“So, you know, I didn’t see it until it was too late. It just clothesline me and, boom, knocked me off the bike.”
He did also move to assure fans though, stating: “But I’m OK! I’m OK, I’m working. I’m working this weekend.”
The comic told how he’d initially kept details of the incident to himself because of the accident he suffered in November that left him with bad burns to his face.
Leno, who is known for his personal collection of classic cars, was at the Los Angeles garage where he stores most of them when one of the cars either caught fire or exploded.
Of that incident, he said: “The fuel line was clogged so I was underneath it. It sounded clogged and I said, ‘Blow some air through the line,’ and so he did.
“And suddenly, boom, I got a face full of gas. And then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire.”
Although he was completely caught off guard and left seriously injured, the flames did not penetrate his eye or ear.
Here’s to wishing Jay Leno a speedy recovery! I hope he can pick himself off, dust himself off, and continue to live life the way he wants to.