Jay Leno reveals recent motorcycle accident that left bones broken

Jay Leno broke his collarbone and several other bones in a motorcycle accident last week, the comic revealed in an interview published Thursday night. The revelation comes less than two months after he suffered second-degree burns in a car fire at his Burbank garage — and at the same time, “Jay Leno’s Garage” would end its run on CNBC.

As he prepared for his return to stand-up comedy on the Las Vegas Strip in March, the former “Tonight Show” host told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that November’s gas fire was just the first of his recent grisly mishaps be.

“That was the first accident. OK? Then just last week I got thrown off my motorcycle,” said the 72-year-old TV icon. “So I have a broken collarbone. I have two broken ribs. I have two broken kneecaps.”

“But I’m okay!” Said Leno. “I’m fine, I’m working. I work this weekend.”

The motorcycle accident happened on Jan. 17 while the “Jay Leno’s Garage” host was working on another classic car, he said. The car and motorcycle enthusiast told the review-journal that while test-riding a 1940 Indian motorcycle, he noticed the smell of leaking gasoline.

“So I turned down a side street and crossed a parking lot and unbeknownst to me, a guy had pulled a wire across the parking lot with no flag on it,” he added. “You know, I didn’t see it until it was too late. It just dragged me onto the wash and, boom, threw me off the bike… The bike kept going, and you know how that works.

The comedy legend said he didn’t mention the accident because of the whirlwind of coverage that accompanied his accident in November, when a car fire in his garage left him hospitalized with burns to his face and elsewhere.

“You know, after you get cremated, you get that for free,” he joked. “After that, you’re Harrison Ford crashing planes. You just want to keep your head down.”

Last November, Leno said he was working to fix a clogged fuel line on his 1907 white steam car – one of many vintage cars in his collection – when gasoline shot out and ignited.

“And my face caught fire,” Leno said on NBC’s Today show in December.

The longtime late-night TV star was hospitalized at the Grossman Burn Center in West Hills, where he underwent multiple surgeries and hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

“Eight days later I had a brand new face,” he wrote about his reconstructive procedures in a Wall Street Journal column. “And it’s better than what came before.”

The revelation of Leno’s motorcycle accident comes amid CNBC’s decision not to renew “Jay Leno’s Garage” for another season as the cable network doubles down on its business news and personal financial information, The Times confirmed on Friday. That means the longtime NBC star will end his 30-year run on NBCUniversal, as first reported by the Hollywood Reporter.

Leno’s reality show “Jay Leno’s Garage,” which has been a prime time cable service since 2015, will be canceled as CNBC launches a new program called “Last Call,” hosted by Brian Sullivan and Business – centered shows (and reruns of) “Shark Tank” and “Undercover Boss”. The network will also offer original business documentation, according to an employee memo obtained by the Times on Thursday.

“Taken together, this lineup will provide our audience with quick insight into market movers and influencers throughout the day,” CNBC President KC Sullivan said in the memo.

Leno officials did not immediately respond to the Times request for comment on Friday.

Leno, who hosted two stations on NBC’s Tonight Show from 1992 to 2014, ended up at sister cable network after retiring from late-night TV. In “Jay Leno’s Garage,” the comedian worked on vehicles and interviewed celebrity guests including Tim Allen, Gabriel Iglesias, Elon Musk and President Biden.