SAN FRANCISCO — Paul Pelosi, the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, has been charged with a misdemeanor hit-and-run in connection with a July 3 collision involving a parked vehicle in California's Napa Valley, prosecutors said on Friday.
The Napa County District Attorney's Office said Pelosi, 86, was charged with one misdemeanor count of hit-and-run involving property damage and an infraction alleging an unlawful turn. The charges stem from an incident in Yountville, where authorities allege Pelosi struck a legally parked, unoccupied vehicle and left the scene without providing the information required under California law.
According to the Napa County Sheriff's Office, Pelosi was driving when the collision occurred. Investigators said he briefly stopped after the crash but then continued driving until his vehicle became disabled a short distance away. Deputies reported that Pelosi acknowledged he had hit something but said he did not know what he had struck. No injuries were reported, and authorities said there was no evidence that alcohol played a role in the incident.
Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley said prosecutors filed the charges after reviewing the investigation. Pelosi is scheduled to make his initial court appearance in Napa County Superior Court on Aug. 14. If convicted, the misdemeanor charge carries potential penalties under California law, though sentencing would be determined by the court.
A spokesperson for the Pelosi family said Paul Pelosi had personally apologized to the owner of the damaged vehicle and had accepted responsibility for the property damage. The spokesperson added that Nancy Pelosi would not comment further on the matter. Pelosi's attorney had not publicly commented on the charges as of Friday.
The district attorney's office said it does not typically issue public statements on misdemeanor property-damage hit-and-run cases but did so because of significant public and media interest. Authorities also said a Department of Motor Vehicles driver re-evaluation would be requested, describing it as a standard administrative step for elderly drivers following such incidents.
The case follows Pelosi's 2022 conviction on a misdemeanor driving-under-the-influence charge arising from a separate Napa County crash. Officials emphasized that the current case does not involve allegations of impaired driving. Pelosi remains scheduled to appear in court next month as the criminal case proceeds.
