Jay Leno, 74, has sustained multiple injuries after taking a tumble down a steep hill.
The comedian had been staying at a hotel perched on elevated land and didn’t fully realize how steep the hill was when he decided to walk down to a restaurant at the bottom. As a result, he’s now sporting a black eye and wearing a patch to cover the bruise.
Leno shared the details of the accident with TMZ, explaining, “I was staying in a hotel on a hill. I asked, ‘Where’s a good place to eat?’ and the restaurant was at the bottom. To get there, I didn’t have a car, so I figured I could walk a mile and a half around the area. The hill didn’t look that steep, maybe 60-70 feet, so I thought I’d try to walk straight down. I fell down. Boom, boom, boom. I rolled down, hit my head on a rock, and ended up with a black eye.”
Despite his injuries, Leno went ahead with a scheduled performance that evening at the Yaamava’ Casino in Southern California. Only after the show did he go to the hospital for treatment.
He explained, “I did the show, and when we got back to LA, I went to the hospital.”
This accident follows a nearly identical incident from two years ago when Leno suffered second- and third-degree burns on his face, chest, and hands after an explosion in his garage while working on a car. He spent 10 days in a Los Angeles hospital and underwent surgery for grafting procedures.
At the time, Leno humorously reflected on his mishaps, saying, “The great thing about this age is you don’t learn by your mistakes, you just keep doing the same stupid thing.”