In an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal published Thursday, the comedian, 72, revealed that he is recovering from a recent motorcycle accident that left him with several broken bones, only months after he sustained second-degree burns in a fire that broke out in the garage of his Los Angeles home.
Detailing that he “got knocked off” his motorcycle on Jan. 17, Leno told the outlet, “I’ve got a broken collarbone. I’ve got two broken ribs. I’ve got two cracked kneecaps.”
“But I’m okay!” the star — who is returning to Las Vegas in March — added. “I’m okay, I’m working. I’m working this weekend.” According to Leno, he was on the road testing a vintage 1940 Indian motorcycle when he noticed the scent of leaking gas and decided to pull over 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 explained to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “So, you know, I didn’t see it until it was too late. It just clothesline me and, boom, knocked me off the bike. The bike kept going, and you know how that works out.”
The former Tonight Show host told the outlet that he didn’t make his accident public knowledge at first because there was so much chaos and coverage from his prior November incident.
“You know, after getting burned up, you get that one for free,” he said, then joking: “After that, you’re Harrison Ford, crashing airplanes. You just want to keep your head down.”
Back in November, Leno and his longtime friend, Dave Killackey, were working on a clogged fuel line in the undercarriage of a 1907 White Steam Car parked in the TV host’s 140,000-square-foot Burbank garage when he sustained severe second-degree burns all over his face and upper body.
Over nine days, Leno underwent two skin grafting surgeries (one with human cadaver skin and another with pig intestine) to help regenerate new healthy skin, as well as sessions in hyperbaric chambers to help oxygenate tissue. Within six days after he left the Center, Leno was back onstage, performing standup at the Comedy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California.
As he continued to heal, Leno said he was aware that his situation could have been much 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!”
