Paul Pelosi, the 86-year-old husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, fled the scene of a traffic accident in Napa County, California, on Friday, leaving behind a car with “major damage,” the Napa County Sheriff’s Department announced Saturday.
Pelosi was driving his brown convertible through Yountville, a small town in California’s wine country, when he struck a legally parked vehicle. He briefly stopped, then drove away. A witness called 911. Deputies located Pelosi about a quarter mile from the scene, his vehicle showing severe front-end damage.
Pelosi told responding officers he knew he hit something but said he wasn’t sure when or what caused the damage.
The sheriff’s department said Pelosi had no alcohol in his system at the time. No injuries were reported. Because no one was physically hurt, authorities are recommending a misdemeanor charge of fleeing the scene of an accident. Pelosi was not arrested.
The department also referred Pelosi to the California Department of Motor Vehicles to initiate a fitness-to-drive review, a process officials described as standard procedure for elderly drivers.
The incident marks another brush with California traffic law for the elder Pelosi. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor DUI charge, also in Napa County, after a crash involving another vehicle. He was sentenced to five days in jail, though he served only two days with good-conduct credit and completed one additional day in a courthouse work program. He was also ordered to attend a three-month driving class, install a breathalyzer ignition lock on his vehicle, and pay roughly $7,000 in fines and victim restitution.
