Paul Pelosi could face a criminal count after allegedly plowing his convertible into a parked car in California wine country and driving off.
Napa County Sheriff’s Office (NCSO) deputies reached the 6700 block of Yount Street in Yountville shortly after 2:30 p.m. on July 3, answering a 911 call about a hit and run, the New York Post reported citing a press release . A witness watched a brown convertible head north, strike an empty and legally parked car, tear into its rear and shove one tire over the curb, then pause briefly before fleeing, according to the outlet.
Deputies caught up with the battered convertible a short distance away on Yountville Cross Road, where a California Highway Patrol unit had already pulled in behind it, according to NBC Bay Area. The car sat partly in the roadway with heavy damage to its front right side, and deputies identified the driver as Pelosi, 86, through his license, the outlet reported. He told them he knew he had hit something but could not say what. (RELATED: DoorDash Driver Charged With Killing Elderly Woman After Overriding Tesla’s Self-Driving Mode)
Investigators cleared alcohol as a factor after a roadside breath test read 0.00, the NCSO said.
Paul Pelosi charged with hit-and-run in Napa County https://t.co/ZYaoRFLkf1 pic.twitter.com/BtNzH52swP
— New York Post (@nypost) July 4, 2026
Deputies never took Pelosi into custody, a step the sheriff’s office called routine for this class of misdemeanor under state law. The department wants the Napa County District Attorney to weigh a misdemeanor count of hit and run causing property damage, and it referred Pelosi for a driving re-evaluation through the state motor vehicle agency, a move it described as common for older drivers.
“Mr. 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,” a Pelosi spokesperson said in a statement to The California Post. “Speaker Pelosi will not be commenting further on this private matter.”
Pelosi is married to former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who now holds the honorary title of speaker emerita and plans to leave Congress in early 2027.
The wreck was not Pelosi’s first run-in with Napa County authorities. He pleaded guilty in 2022 to a misdemeanor DUI after crashing his Porsche, and a court handed him five days in jail and three years of probation, the Associated Press reported. He wound up serving a single day in a courthouse work program, according to the outlet. Months later, an intruder searching for his wife broke into their San Francisco home and beat him with a hammer, fracturing his skull.