paul pelosi hit and run: 7 facts about the crash and his history in napa county
Paul Pelosi, the 86-year-old husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is facing a possible misdemeanor charge after a hit-and-run crash Friday in California wine country. The paul pelosi hit and run incident is the latest chapter in a turbulent several years for the Pelosi family, following a DUI conviction and a violent home invasion attack. Here is everything confirmed so far.
what actually happened friday
According to the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded around 2:30 p.m. Friday to a report of a hit-and-run in the 6700 block of Yount Street in Yountville, a small town in California’s wine country. A witness told authorities that a brown convertible struck a legally parked, unoccupied car, briefly stopped, then drove away. The paul pelosi hit and run left the parked vehicle with what deputies described as “major” rear damage, with the front right tire forced onto the curb.
how they found him
The witness provided deputies with the direction the vehicle had traveled. A short time later, sheriff’s deputies located a brown convertible with significant front-end damage blocking the roadway on Yountville Cross Road, roughly a quarter mile from the initial crash site. The driver was identified as Paul Pelosi, 86.
what he told police
According to CNN and multiple other outlets, Pelosi told officers “that he knew he hit something but wasn’t sure when or what caused the damage to his car.” That statement is central to the case, since it forms the basis for the fleeing-the-scene allegation against him.
no alcohol involved this time
Unlike his 2022 incident, authorities confirmed Pelosi registered .00 on a preliminary alcohol screening device, meaning no alcohol was detected. He was not arrested. Because there were no reported injuries, the sheriff’s office is recommending only a misdemeanor charge, and the case has been referred to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office for review.
the DMV referral
Given his age, authorities separately referred Pelosi to the California Department of Motor Vehicles for a standard process used to evaluate whether an older driver should continue driving, a procedure the AP noted is common for elderly drivers involved in crashes.
his prior 2022 DUI in the same county
The paul pelosi hit and run is not his first driving-related legal trouble in Napa County. In May 2022, Pelosi crashed his car with a blood alcohol content of 0.082%, later pleading guilty to misdemeanor DUI causing injury to another driver. He was sentenced to five days in jail and three years of probation, though he ultimately served only two days with good conduct credit, plus one day in a courthouse work program. His probation required a three-month drinking driver class and an ignition interlock device.
the hammer attack later that year
Just months after the 2022 DUI, Paul Pelosi was the victim of a violent home invasion. In October 2022, David DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco residence looking for Nancy Pelosi, who was away on a work trip, and attacked Paul with a hammer, fracturing his skull. DePape was later convicted and sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, in addition to a life-without-parole sentence on state charges.
the family’s response
A spokesperson for the Pelosi family issued a brief statement following the paul pelosi hit and run: “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. Speaker Pelosi will not be commenting further on this private matter.”
what happens next
The Napa County District Attorney’s Office will determine whether to formally file the recommended misdemeanor charge for fleeing the scene of an accident. Given his age and driving history, the DMV evaluation could also affect Pelosi’s ability to continue driving going forward, independent of any criminal proceedings tied to the paul pelosi hit and run.
Sources: NPR.org, CNN.com, ABC7News.com, NBCNews.com, TheHill.com July 4 to 5, 2026
