Silke Jasso
Jay Leno just can’t seem to take a day off. Through an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal that was published on Thursday, the 72-year-old comedian revealed that he is now recovering from a recent motorcycle accident that left him with several broken bones. The accident comes only months after he sustained second-degree burns in a fire that broke out in the garage of his home.
This time around, the comedian said that he “got knocked off” his motorcycle on January 17th, telling the outlet, “I’ve got a broken collarbone. I’ve got broken ribs. I’ve got two cracked kneecaps.”
“But I’m okay!” the former late-night host stated, who is set to return to Las Vegas in march. “I’m okay, I’m working. I’m working this weekend.” A representative for the comedian has yet to respond to any requests for comment.
According to Leno, he was on the road testing a vintage 1940 Indian motorcycle when he quickly noticed the scent of gas and decided to pull over in order to investigate. “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,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “So, you know, I didn’t see it until it was too late. It just clotheslined me and, boom, knocked me off the bike. The bike kept going, and you know how that works out.”
Jay Leno Breaks Several Bones in Motorcycle Accident
Leno then told the outlet that he didn’t make the scary accident public knowledge since there was so much chaos about the coverage from his prior incident in November. “You know, after getting burned up, you get that one for free,” he joked: “After that, you’re Harrison Ford, crashing airplanes. You just want to keep your head down.”
Back in November of last year, Leno and his friend, Dave Killackey, were working on a clogged fuel line in the undercarriage of a 1907 White Steam Car that was parked in the comedian’s Burbank garage. He then sustained several secondary burns all over his face and upper body. Luckily within minutes, paramedics had arrived and by the next day, he was checked into The Grossman Center where he was treated for several burns across his face, chest, neck, left arm, and hands.
According to his representatives, for over nine days, his wife, Mavis, slept beside him at the hospital where he underwent two skin grafting surgeries. He received one with human cadaver skin and the other with pig intestine, in order to help regenerate new healthy skin, as well as several sessions in hyperbaric chambers to help oxygenate tissue. Luckily for the comedian, within six days after he left The Center he was back on stage to perform stand-up at the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California.
“It felt exactly like my face was on fire. Maybe like the most intense sunburn you’ve ever had, that’d be fair to say,” Leno told People at that time. Leno did state that he was aware that the situation could have gone way worse. “I know how bad it could have been,” he explained. “But I’m okay. And I’m sure I’ll continue to do the same stupid things I’ve always done. Just maybe a little bit more carefully!”
