Paul Pelosi, the 86-year-old husband of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, has been referred to prosecutors after authorities said he struck a parked car with his brown convertible in California wine country and drove away. The incident occurred Friday afternoon around 2:30 p.m. on the 6700 block of Yount Street in Yountville, a town in the heart of Napa Valley about an hour north of San Francisco.
According to the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, a witness called 911 after seeing a brown convertible traveling northbound on Yount Street collide with an unoccupied parked vehicle. The witness reported that the driver briefly stopped before continuing to drive away from the scene. The parked car sustained what authorities described as “major” damage, with the force of the collision pushing one tire over the curb. No injuries were reported.
Deputies located Pelosi’s disabled vehicle approximately a quarter-mile away on Yountville Cross Road, where a California Highway Patrol unit was already parked behind it. The car was partially blocking the roadway and showed significant damage to its front right side, consistent with the collision. Deputies identified the driver as Paul Pelosi through his California driver’s license.
When questioned, Pelosi told investigators he knew he had struck something but was unsure what it was, so he continued driving until his vehicle became disabled and could no longer operate. A preliminary alcohol screening test showed no alcohol in his system, and authorities ruled out driving under the influence.
The sheriff’s office did not take Pelosi into custody, describing that decision as routine for this class of misdemeanor offense under California law. Instead, the case has been referred to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office, which will determine whether to file formal misdemeanor hit-and-run charges.
A spokesperson for the Pelosi family released a statement saying that 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.” The statement added that “Speaker Pelosi will not be commenting further on this private matter.”
In addition to the referral for potential criminal charges, the sheriff’s office submitted a request to the California Department of Motor Vehicles for a driver reexamination. The agency evaluates whether older motorists remain medically fit to continue driving, a process officials said is common for elderly drivers after a traffic incident.
This incident marks the second car-related matter for Pelosi in Napa County within recent years. In May 2022, he was involved in a crash that resulted in his conviction on misdemeanor driving under the influence charges. He was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation, though he ultimately served only two days in jail plus one day through a courthouse work program. As part of that sentence, he was required to complete a three-month drinking driver education program, install an ignition interlock device in his vehicle, and pay approximately $5,000 in victim restitution and nearly $2,000 in fines.
In October 2022, Pelosi was attacked in his San Francisco home by a man who broke in looking for Nancy Pelosi, who was away on a congressional trip at the time. Pelosi was struck in the head with a hammer and suffered a fractured skull. The attacker, David DePape, was later convicted and is serving a lengthy prison sentence.
Nancy Pelosi, a longtime California Democrat, has served in Congress for decades and recently announced plans to step down in early 2027. She now holds the honorary title of speaker emerita after having served as Speaker of the House.