Key takeaways:
- The Napa County Sheriff’s Office said Paul Pelosi, 86, admitted hitting something but said he did not know what he had hit and kept driving until his car became disabled.
- Authorities said the parked vehicle was unoccupied, legally parked on Yount Street in Yountville and left with major rear damage.
- The sheriff’s office said alcohol did not appear to be a factor, Pelosi was not arrested, and the case was forwarded to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office.
Paul Pelosi, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is suspected of hitting a legally parked car in Napa County and driving away before his own vehicle became disabled, the Napa County Sheriff’s Office said.
The crash happened around 2:30 p.m. Friday on the 6700 block of Yount Street in Yountville, California, about 50 miles north of San Francisco. The sheriff’s office said the parked vehicle was unoccupied and sustained major rear damage.
A witness told deputies that after the driver crashed into the parked car, he briefly stopped and then left the scene. The witness described the vehicle as a brown convertible and gave deputies the direction it was last seen traveling, according to the sheriff’s office.
A short time later, deputies found a California Highway Patrol vehicle parked behind a brown convertible that was partially blocking Yountville Cross Road. Deputies identified the driver as Paul Pelosi, 86, and said the convertible had significant damage to the front right side, consistent with the crash.
“Pelosi admitted to hitting something, but said he did not know what he had hit, so he kept driving,” the sheriff’s office said in a press release quoted by NBC News. “He drove until his car became disabled and was no longer able to continue driving.”
The sheriff’s office said alcohol did not appear to be a factor. NBC News reported that a preliminary alcohol test found no alcohol in Pelosi’s system.
Pelosi was not arrested. The sheriff’s office said that decision was made in accordance with misdemeanor arrest laws. The case has been forwarded to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office for review and possible prosecution. NBC News described Pelosi as facing hit-and-run charges in the incident.
The sheriff’s office also said it will submit a California Department of Motor Vehicles re-evaluation referral form. “A California DMV re-evaluation referral form will be submitted to DMV, which is common for elderly drivers,” the sheriff’s office said.
CBS News said it had reached out to Pelosi’s office for comment.
The incident is not Pelosi’s first car-related case in Napa County. NBC News reported that in 2022, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five days in jail for driving under the influence.
Pelosi has also been the victim of a violent attack at the San Francisco home he shares with Nancy Pelosi. CBS News reported that the attack happened during a politically motivated break-in in October 2022. NBC News reported that David DePape assaulted Pelosi with a hammer and was later sentenced to 30 years in prison.
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