Jay Leno details how his “face caught fire” in the first interview since the accident

CNN
–

Jay Leno first opened about incident Which left him suffering from severe burns on his face and body.

In an interview with Hoda Kotb from Today“,” For the first time since the November 12 incidentAnd the The comedian, 72, said he was working under a vintage 1907 car alongside his friend Dave Killackey when a series of events led to his injury.

“The fuel line was clogged so I was under it. It looked clogged and I said, ‘Blow some air through the line,’ and so he did, ‘Lino, avid car collector, to the pole. And suddenly, boom, my face is full of gas. Then the pilot light jumped out and my face was on fire.”

The “Jay Leno’s Garage” star said he said to Killackey, “Dave, I’m on fire,” to which his friend initially replied, “Okay.”

I said, ‘No, Dave, I’m on fire. “Oh my God,” Leno then added. “Dave, my friend, pulled me out and jumped on me and kind of put out the fire.”

Leno was first taken to a local hospital, and then transferred to the Grossman-Bern Center in Los Angeles after the accident, CNN reported previously.

In a press conference on November 16, Dr. Peter Grossman, who treated the former “Tonight Show” presenter, said, “It was noted that he had significant burns to his face and hands,” going on to say that the burns were on Leno’s “face, hands, and chest.”

The burns were a mix of second-degree burns and possibly some third-degree burns, according to Grossman, who added that “some of the burns on the face are a little deeper and more disturbing.”

Although Leno’s injuries were serious, Grossman said at the time that the funny man was expected to make a full recovery.

Sure enough, just two weeks after the accident, Leno conducted in front of a sold-out crowd at its usual haunt of comedy and magic in Hermosa Beach, California, according to a club spokesperson at the time.

According to NBC, Leno joked to reporters outside the venue, “We got two offers tonight. Plain and very crunchy.”

This week’s interview will appear on NBC News’ “Today” show on Wednesday.