Jay Leno hit a police car as he arrived for his comeback stand-up show.
Jay Leno hit a police car as he arrived for his comeback stand-up show
The 72-year-old was filmed in a minor collision with the vehicle on Sunday night (27.11.22), six days after he was discharged from a burns treatment centre following an accident that severely damaged his face, chest and hands.
Footage that emerged on Monday showed the rear right tyre of his Tesla striking a police Jeep in front of a crowd of fans as he drove up to The Comedy and Magic Club in Hermosa Beach, California, with his wife Mavis.
Officers are seen in the clip looking startled before Jay got out to check with if he had hit them badly, but cops said it was “no big deal”.
Jay then joked with Press and fans about his burns: “Ah, the elephant man is here. I’m not on stage yet, I just got here. We’ll give it a shot, let’s see what happens... stay away from the Flamin’ Hot Doritos!
“No, we got two shows tonight. Regular and extra crispy! Never thought of myself as a roast comic! Thank you, thank you, goodnight.
“I got burned, I was in hospital for a few days, and now I’m back out working again. People do that every day!”
Staff at the comedy club welcomed him back after his accident with signs saying “Welcome Back Jay” and “We Love You”, with Jay’s set reportedly mainly made up of jokes making fun of himself.
He has tested stand-up routines at the club almost every week.
Jay underwent skin graft surgery after he suffered injuries to his face, hands and chest when one of his cars burst into flames while he was in his garage earlier this month.
The former ‘Tonight Show’ host had insisted he is doing “fine” after he was discharged from a burns unit last week, after spending 10 days in the hospital.
He had two grafting procedures to remove unhealthy tissue and promote healing after he was burned while working on his 115-year-old car.
A fuel leak followed by a spark in the 1907 White Steam Car triggered an explosion, leaving him needing hospitalisation.
Dr Peter Grossman, a plastic surgeon and medical director of Grossman Burn Center at West Hills Hospital in Los Angeles, recently told how avid car collector Jay had “significant” and “deep” second-degree burns and possibly some third-degree burns following the incident, but anticipated he would make a “full recovery”.
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