Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband caused a hit and run Friday in California’s wine country that left one car with “major damage,” according to local authorities, who said the 86-year-old could face misdemeanor charges.
Paul Pelosi was driving his brown convertible in Yountville, a small town in Napa County, when he struck a legally parked car on the side of the road, briefly stopped and then drove away, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Saturday. No injuries occurred.
A witness saw the crash and called 911. Shortly after, sheriff’s deputies found Pelosi with severe damage to the front of his car on a nearby road roughly a quarter of a mile away. The octogenarian told officers that he knew he hit something but wasn’t sure when or what caused the damage to his car.
Pelosi didn’t have any alcohol in his system at the time of the crash, according to the statement. The sheriff’s office referred Pelosi to the California Department of Motor Vehicles to initiate a process that will determine whether he is able to continue driving — a process that officials say is “common” for elderly drivers.
Officers didn’t arrest him, and because no one was physically injured, the sheriff’s office is recommending a misdemeanor that charges Pelosi with fleeing the scene of an accident.
“Mr. Paul Pelosi has personally apologized to the owner of the vehicle and assured them that he would take responsibility for the damage to their vehicle. Speaker Pelosi will not be commenting further on this private matter,” a spokesperson for the Pelosi family said in a statement.
Paul Pelosi pleaded guilty in 2022 to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence in Napa County. A judge sentenced him to five days in jail and three years of probation — though he served only two days in jail and received good conduct credit for two other days, leaving just one day to serve in a work program at the local courthouse.
As part of his probation, Pelosi was also required to attend a three-month drinking driver class and to install an ignition interlock device, where the driver has to provide a breath sample to prove sobriety before the engine will start. The court also ordered him to pay about $5,000 in victim restitution for medical bills and lost wages and nearly $2,000 in fines.
Shortly after that crash, David DePape attacked and severely beat Paul Pelosi with a hammer at the couple’s San Francisco home in late 2022. A judge sentenced DePape in 2024 to 30 years in prison.
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