Comedian Jay Leno involved in a motorcycle crash following recent fire injury
Comedian and talk show host Jay Leno is recovering from a motorcycle accident that left him with multiple broken bones. This incident happened two months after Leno’s garage caught fire, leaving him with severe burns.
On Friday (January 27th), Leno shared he was “clotheslined” and knocked off his motorcycle, sustaining broken ribs and other injuries. The crash occurred close to Burbank, California facility, which houses his motorcycle collection and other vehicles. “I got a broken collarbone, couple of broken ribs, and two cracked kneecaps,” the host shared in an interview. “But other than that, I’m OK.”
A spokesperson shared that Leno’s stand-up schedule was briefly suspended and that he underwent shoulder surgery. Leno was reportedly working on a vintage motorcycle and was giving it a road test with its sidecar attached. He then detected the smell of leaking gas. He said he adjusted the carburettor and headed back to the garage.
“So I turn around, I start to cut through a parking lot,” Leno added. “And there was a wire across two poles which was not well marked and, boom, I just got — it clotheslined me, hit me in the neck and threw me off the bike.”
When the Las Vegas Review-Journal asked Leno how he recovered from the fire, the comedian first shared news of his accident. “It’s so funny you should say that,” Leno replied. “That was the first accident. OK? Then just last week, I got knocked off my motorcycle. So I’ve got a broken collarbone. I’ve got two broken ribs. I’ve got two cracked kneecaps.”
It was later reported that Leno’s Burbank garage homes 180 cars and 160 motorcycles, including the vintage 1907 White Motor Co. steam-powered car he was working on when he noticed the fuel line was clogged.
Speaking to NBC’s Today Show, Leno shared that he went underneath the vehicle to fix it. “And I said, ‘Blow some air through the line,'” he recalled. “Then suddenly, boom, I got a face full of gas. And then the pilot light jumped, and my face caught on fire.”
He added: “My friend pulled me out and jumped on top of me and kind of smothered the fire.”
The talk show host was taken to a hospital by an ambulance and then sent to the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles, where he received hyperbaric treatment, an oxygen therapy that “can accelerate burn wound healing”.
Leno has confirmed he will return to stand-up as soon as possible, preparing to perform at Encore Theatre at Wynn Las Vegas on Friday, March 31st.
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