Jay Leno is reportedly recovering from a motorcycle accident last week that left him with multiple broken bones just months after he was badly burned in a fire that broke out in his Los Angeles garage.
Speaking to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the comedian and talk show host revealed he was knocked off his motorcycle on January 17 in an incident that left him with a broken collarbone, two broken ribs and two cracked kneecaps.
«But I’m fine !» Leno, 72, reportedly told the outlet. «I’m fine, I’m working. I work this weekend.
The former ‘Tonight Show’ host said he was working on a vintage motorcycle and was testing the vehicle when he noticed the smell of gas leaking out.
«So I turned down a side street and drove through a parking lot, and unbeknownst to me, a guy had a wire stretched across the parking lot but no flag hanging,» Leno told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “So, you know, I didn’t see him until it was too late. It was just a clothesline, me and, boom, knocked me off the bike.»
«The motorbike went on, and you know how it goes,» he said.
Representatives for Leno did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The comedian reportedly said he has yet to publicly discuss the motorcycle accident due to the overwhelming coverage of his recovery from his burn injuries sustained in November.
Leno suffered severe burns to his hands and chest and third-degree burns to his face after his classic car caught fire Nov. 12 in his Los Angeles garage.
In an exclusive interview on NBC’s «TODAY,» Leno told Hoda Kotb that he was working on his vintage 1907 White Motor Co. steam car with a friend when he noticed the fuel line on the vehicle was clogged.
Leno said he went under the vehicle to try to fix it. «And I said, ‘Blow some air in the line,'» he recalled. «Then all of a sudden, boom, my face was full of gas. And then the pilot light blew out, and my face caught on fire.
«My friend pulled me out and jumped on top of me and kind of smothered the fire,» Leno said.
The comedian was transported by ambulance to the hospital and then sent to the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles, where he received hyperbaric treatment, an oxygen therapy that «can speed up the healing of burns», according to the establishment’s website.
Despite the severity of his injuries, Leno started doing stand-up again just weeks after the incident. And even after sustaining further injuries this month, the comedian seems undeterred as he prepares for his debut at the Encore Theater at Wynn Las Vegas for a show scheduled for March 31.