CNN
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Jay Leno has opened up for the first time about the accident that left him with severe burns to his face and body.
In an interview with Hoda Kotb from TODAY” His first since the November 12 incident, The 72-year-old comedian said he and his friend Dave Killage were working underneath a 1907 vintage car when a series of events left him injured.
“The fuel line was clogged, so I was under it. It sounded clogged, and I said, ‘Blow some air through the line,’ and he did,” Leno, avid car collector, Recall Kottb. “Suddenly, there was a bang, and my face was filled with gas. Then the light suddenly came on, and my face was on fire.”
The “Jay Leno’s Garage” star said he told Killage, “Dave, I’m on fire,” to which his friend initially responded simply, “Okay.”
“I said, ‘No, Dave, I’m on fire.’ And then, ‘Oh, my God,'” Leno added. “Dave, my friend, pulled me out, jumped on me and put the fire out.”
According to a previous report by CNN, Leno was first taken to a local hospital and then transferred to the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles after the incident.
During a news conference on Nov. 16, Dr. Peter Grossman, the former “Tonight Show” host, said he had “noticed fairly severe burns to his face and hands,” going on to say the burns were on Raynor’s body. “The face, his hands, and his chest.”
According to Grossman, the burns were a mix of second-degree and third-degree burns, adding, “Some of the burns on the face were deeper and more worrisome.”
While Raynor’s injuries were serious, Grossman said at the time that the comedian was expected to make a full recovery.
Sure enough, just two weeks after the accident, Leno was performing in front of a sold-out audience at the Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California, where he frequented, according to a club spokesman at the time.
“We have two shows tonight. Normal and extra crisp,” Leno joked to reporters outside the venue, according to NBC.
This week’s interview will air on NBC News’ “Today” show on Wednesday.
