Jay Leno, who was rushed to the hospital after a terrible gasoline fire, was told by doctors that he needed special care in the burn center.
Instead of being transferred to the Grossman burn center, where he would spend nine days, Leno decided to take himself home to his wife, Mavis.
“I immediately drove home,” Leno told Hoda Kotb on “Today.”
To Kotb’s surprise, Leno confirmed that he was behind the wheel and decided to spend the night at home instead of in a hospital bed after the accident. “My wife doesn’t drive anymore,” he explained. “I didn’t want him to get hit and not know what was going on. It felt like the right thing to do, and I think it was.”
Jay Leno has recounted the moments after his face was burned in a gasoline accident in his garage.
(Rodin Eckenroth)
JAY LENO JOKS ABOUT BURNS: ‘THERE’S NOTHING BETTER THAN DOING CELEBRITIES’
“So you loved your wife more than yourself,” Kotb, 72, asked.
“Yeah, it is,” he said sarcastically, before adding, “I guess that’s what it’s all about.”
Jay Leno has been married to his wife Mavis since 1980. The couple has no children.
(Michael Tullberg)
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The incident in his Burbank garage happened when the former Tonight Show host was working on his 1907 white steam engine when he realized the fuel line was clogged.
He was under the car and tried to open the line when he asked for air.
“All of a sudden my face was full of gas and the pilot light went off and my face was on fire,” he said of the accident.
Jay Leno can be seen with a prominent burn on his hand as he is pictured following the accident in Los Angeles.
(Images by MEGA/GC)
Luckily, his good friend Dave Killaki was on the scene and took matters into his own hands – literally.
“I grabbed her … I grabbed her by the head and pulled her head to my chest,” Killaki told Kotb.
“I thought it was a bad Tinder date,” Leno joked of his friend’s actions.
Killaki described Leno’s face as a “wall of fire” and told his friend to “splash cold water on his face” in the bathroom.
Jay Leno has already returned to comedy after the accident.
(Images by MEGA/GC)
During his recovery, Leno received many cards and flowers, as well as well wishes.
Even President Biden himself called him.
“I’m surprised you don’t have more important things to do, but thank you, Mr. President,” Leno joked about his reaction to the President of the United States giving him a personal message.