In his first sit-down TV interview since the incident, he told the Today show: “It was a 1907 White Steam Car.
”The fuel line was clogged so I was underneath it. It sounded clogged and I said, ‘Blow some air through the line,’ and so he did... Suddenly, boom, I got a face full of gas.
”And then the pilot light jumped and my face caught on fire. And I said to my friend, I said, ‘Dave, I’m on fire.’ And Dave’s like, ‘All right.’”I said, ‘No, Dave, I’m on fire.’ And then, ‘Oh my god.’ Dave, my friend, pulled me out and jumped on top of me and kind of smothered the fire.”
The 72-year-old comedian was left needing skin graft surgery after the accident with People Magazine reporting his wife of 42 years, Mavis Leno, was by his side for the entirety of his nine-day stay in a special burns unit.
While speaking with the magazine, he also revealed he refused to take pain medication despite his painful injuries claiming, “The pain is a reminder that I’m an idiot,” and said his injuries could have been a lot worse if he had panicked.
Jay Leno, pictured here with staff from the Grossman Burns Centre, has been discharged from hospital. Photo / Grossman Burns Centre
“I’m not a panicky guy, but I knew if I breathed in I could scorch my lungs,” he shared. “I was under the car maybe 10 seconds before Dave pulled me out. Any longer than that I could have lost my eye.”
He also said during his stay, his friends rallied including Kiwi-born film star, Russell Crowe: “Travolta sent me a big Italian basket, Tom Selleck sent flowers and Russell Crowe called from Australia. I’ve been in this business a long time and to feel that love was really touching.”
Meanwhile, the former Tonight Show host has admitted he accepted the possibility of an accident was always a risk because of his love of tinkering with old cars.
He wrote for the Wall Street Journal: “Eight days later, I had a brand new face. And it’s better than what was there before.
”But really, it was an accident, that’s all. Anybody who works with their hands on a regular basis is going to have an accident at some point. If you play football, you get a concussion or a broken leg. Anything you do, there’s a risk factor.”
