LOS ANGELES — California authorities are investigating a hit-and-run crash involving Paul Pelosi, the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, after deputies said he struck a parked vehicle and left the scene before being located a short distance away.
The Napa County Sheriff's Office said the collision occurred Friday afternoon in Yountville, where Paul Pelosi, 86, was driving a brown convertible that struck a legally parked, unoccupied vehicle, causing significant damage. According to the sheriff's office, a witness reported seeing the vehicle briefly stop after the impact before continuing away from the scene.
Deputies responding to the report later found Pelosi's damaged vehicle about a quarter of a mile from the crash site after it became disabled. Investigators said Pelosi told deputies he knew he had hit something but was unsure what he had struck or exactly when the damage had occurred.
Authorities said no injuries were reported, and a preliminary alcohol screening test found no alcohol in Pelosi's system, ruling out driving under the influence as a factor in the incident. Because there were no injuries, deputies did not arrest Pelosi at the scene. Instead, the sheriff's office recommended that prosecutors consider a misdemeanor charge of fleeing the scene of an accident.
The case has been referred to the Napa County District Attorney's Office, which will determine whether to file criminal charges. The sheriff's office also said it submitted a request to the California Department of Motor Vehicles for a driver re-evaluation, describing the referral as a routine step that may be taken for older motorists following certain incidents.
A spokesperson for Nancy Pelosi did not immediately respond to requests for comment, according to multiple media reports.
The incident follows Pelosi's 2022 conviction on misdemeanor driving-under-the-influence charges stemming from a separate crash in Napa County. He pleaded guilty and received a sentence that included jail time, probation, participation in an alcohol education program and installation of an ignition interlock device, according to court records cited by news organizations.
Later in 2022, Pelosi was seriously injured when an intruder attacked him with a hammer at the couple's San Francisco home in a widely publicized assault.
As of Sunday, authorities had not announced any formal criminal charge, and the matter remained under review by the Napa County District Attorney's Office.
