86-Year-Old Paul Pelosi Cited for Hit-and-Run in Napa

An 86-year-old driver hit a parked car, kept going, and didn’t realize what had happened until deputies tracked him down. That driver? Paul Pelosi, husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who now faces a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge stemming from a Friday afternoon collision in Yountville.

According to the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, the incident unfolded around 2:30 p.m. in the 6700 block of Yount Street when a witness spotted a brown convertible heading northbound strike an unoccupied parked vehicle. The driver briefly stopped, then continued driving until the car became disabled. Deputies later located the convertible with damage to the front right—damage consistent with the parked car’s rear—parked behind a California Highway Patrol vehicle near Yountville Cross Road.

When investigators spoke with Paul Pelosi, he told them he’d hit something but didn’t know what, so he kept driving. The damage pattern and his vehicle’s condition quickly confirmed he was the driver responsible. Notably, Pelosi was not arrested at the scene, a decision the sheriff’s office said is standard procedure for misdemeanor hit-and-runs. He was tested for alcohol and drug impairment; DUI is not suspected.

The incident has triggered a California DMV re-evaluation referral form due to Pelosi’s status as an elderly driver—a protective measure that could influence future licensing decisions. This detail underscores a broader conversation about aging drivers and road safety, one that plays out quietly in accident reports across California every day but rarely makes headlines.

The story also highlights how even high-profile families navigate the same traffic laws and consequences as everyone else. Whether that scrutiny should be different is a question each reader will answer differently.