() — Jay Leno spoke for the first time about the accident that caused severe burns to her face and body.
In an interview with “Today’s” Hoda Kotb, his first since the incident on Nov. 12, the 72-year-old comedian said he was working under a vintage 1907 car with his friend Dave Killackey when a series actually caused their injuries.
Jay Leno spoke to NBC News’ ‘Today’ program in the first interview he has given since the accident he suffered. (Credit: Today)
“The fuel line was clogged, so I was under it. It sounded like it was clogged, and I said, ‘Blow some air down the line, and so he did,'” recalled Leno, an avid car collector. “And all of a sudden, ‘boom,’ gasoline was all over my face. And then the pilot started and my face went up in flames.”
The “Jay Leno’s Garage” star said he told Killackey, “Dave, I’m on fire,” to which his friend initially just replied, “Okay.”
“I was like, ‘No, Dave, I’m burning up. And then, ‘Oh my God,'” Leno added. “Dave, my friend, he pulled me out and jumped on me and he kind of put out the fire.”
Leno was initially transported to a local hospital and then to the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles after the incident, according to reported previously .
At a press conference on November 16, Dr. Peter Grossman, who treated the former “Tonight Show” host, said he “was noted to have fairly severe burns to his face and hands.” He later stated that the burns were on Leno’s “face, hands and chest.”
The burns were second-degree and possibly some third-degree, according to Grossman, who added that “some of the facial burns are a little deeper and a little more worrisome.”
Although Leno’s injuries were serious, Grossman said at the time that the comedian was expected to make a full recovery.
Two weeks after the accident, Leno performed to a sold-out crowd at his regular venue, the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California, according to a club spokesman at the time.
According to NBC, Leno joked to reporters as he left the venue: “We have two shows tonight. Regular and Extra Crispy.”
This week’s interview will appear on NBC’s “Today” show this Wednesday.
