Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, faces hit-and-run charges after hitting a parked car Friday afternoon in Yountville, Napa County, the Napa County Sheriff's Office said.
Deputies said the collision occurred around 2:30 p.m. on the 6700 block of Yount Street; the parked vehicle was unoccupied and was left with major rear damage, the sheriff's office said.
A witness told deputies the driver briefly stopped and then left, and deputies later found a brown convertible partially blocking Yountville Cross Road with a California Highway Patrol vehicle parked behind it; the driver was identified by his license as 86-year-old Paul Pelosi and deputies noted significant damage to the front right side of his vehicle, the sheriff's office said.
Pelosi admitted to hitting something but told deputies he did not know what he hit and said he kept driving until his car became disabled, the sheriff's office said.
A preliminary alcohol test found no alcohol in his system, and he was not arrested; the Napa County Sheriff's Office referred the case to the Napa County District Attorney's Office for review and prosecution, the sheriff's office said.
"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.
"A California DMV re-evaluation referral form will be submitted to DMV, which is common for elderly drivers," the sheriff's office said.
No injuries were reported, and the sheriff's office recommended a misdemeanor charge for fleeing the scene of an accident, meaning he could face misdemeanor charges, the sheriff's office said.
Shortly afterward deputies found Pelosi with damage to the front of his car on a road roughly a quarter of a mile away, the sheriff's office said.
A staffer for Nancy Pelosi did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
In October 2022, Paul Pelosi was the victim of a violent break-in and politically-motivated attack at the couple's San Francisco home; he suffered a fractured skull and required surgery after hammer blows delivered by David Wayne DePape, and DePape was convicted in 2023 on federal assault and attempted kidnapping charges and sentenced to 30 years in prison and was later convicted on five state charges and sentenced to life in prison.
Paul Pelosi pleaded guilty in 2022 to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence in Napa County and was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation; he served two days in jail, received good conduct credit for two other days, was ordered to attend a three-month drinking driver class, install an ignition interlock device and pay about $5,000 in victim restitution and nearly $2,000 in fines.