He Hit a Parked Tesla and Drove Off. Now Paul Pelosi Faces a Hit-and-Run Charge — His Second Napa County Case in Four Years.
At around 2:30 p.m. on July 3, 2026, a brown Maserati convertible struck a legally parked, unoccupied Tesla in the 6700 block of Yount Street in Yountville, the small Napa County wine-country town best known for its Michelin-starred restaurants. The Maserati briefly stopped, then drove roughly a quarter to a half mile before it became disabled. Napa County Sheriff’s deputies tracked it down and identified the driver as Paul Pelosi, the 86-year-old husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Deputies tested him on the spot. The result was .00 — the Sheriff’s Office says driving under the influence was ruled out entirely. The case was instead referred to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office as a straightforward property-damage hit-and-run: did the driver stop and exchange information, as California law requires, or not.
Two weeks later, on July 17, 2026, District Attorney Allison Haley answered that question by filing charges: a misdemeanor count of failing to stop and exchange information after a property-damage collision, and an infraction for an unsafe turning movement. Pelosi has been charged, not convicted, and he was never arrested. His court date is set for August 14, 2026, in Napa County Superior Court.
- July 3, 2026, ~2:30 p.m. — when the Maserati struck the parked Tesla on Yount Street in Yountville, Napa County — per the Napa County Sheriff's Office
- 0.25–0.5 mile — the distance the Maserati traveled after the collision before it became disabled — per Fox News
- .00 — the reading on the preliminary alcohol screening device; DUI was ruled out — per the Sheriff's Office statement
- Up to $1,000 fine / 6 months jail — the maximum statutory penalty for the misdemeanor hit-and-run count, if convicted — per Fox News
- August 14, 2026 — Pelosi's scheduled court date at Napa County Superior Court — per the Press Democrat
Yountville sits in the heart of Napa Valley wine country, a town of fewer than 3,000 people better known for The French Laundry than for breaking news. According to the Napa County Sheriff’s Office, Pelosi’s brown Maserati convertible struck a Tesla that was legally parked and unoccupied in the 6700 block of Yount Street shortly after 2:30 p.m. The Maserati stopped briefly at the scene — then drove off, traveling somewhere between a quarter mile and a half mile before it became disabled and could go no farther.
Deputies located the disabled vehicle and identified Pelosi as the driver. They administered a preliminary alcohol screening on the spot.
“The investigation also determined that no alcohol (.00 on Preliminary Alcohol Screening Device) was detected upon testing, therefore Driving Under the Influence was ruled out.”
Napa County Sheriff's Office · public statement
That single fact reframes the entire story: this is not a repeat of Pelosi’s 2022 DUI case. Alcohol was tested for and explicitly ruled out. What remained was a narrower question that California vehicle law treats seriously on its own terms — whether a driver involved in a collision with a parked, unoccupied vehicle stopped and left the required identifying information for the owner, as state law mandates, or drove away without doing so.
With DUI ruled out, the Sheriff’s Office referred the case to the Napa County District Attorney’s Office for a charging decision — the standard next step when a suspected hit-and-run is investigated but no arrest is made at the scene. The following day, July 4, the Pelosi family issued a statement acknowledging the crash and the damage it caused.
“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.”
Pelosi family statement · July 4, 2026
The apology addressed the property damage but did not address the central legal question — whether Pelosi had met his obligation to stop and exchange information at the scene, rather than after the fact. That question sat with prosecutors for nearly two weeks while the investigation moved through the DA’s review process.
Paul Pelosi has been referred to the District Attorney's Office for a criminal investigation and possible charges following an alleged hit-and-run.
On July 17, 2026, District Attorney Allison Haley formally filed charges against Pelosi: a misdemeanor count of failing to stop and exchange information after a property-damage collision, plus an infraction for an unsafe turning movement. Pelosi was never arrested at any point in this matter — the case moved from investigation directly to a charging decision, and his first scheduled court appearance is August 14, 2026, in Napa County Superior Court.
• Misdemeanor — failure to stop and exchange information after a property-damage collision (California Vehicle Code hit-and-run statute)
• Infraction — unsafe turning movement
• Maximum penalty on the misdemeanor count — up to $1,000 in fines and/or up to six months in Napa County jail
• Court date — August 14, 2026, Napa County Superior Court
Six months and $1,000 is a modest maximum exposure next to the national attention the case has drawn — a reminder that California treats an unoccupied-vehicle hit-and-run as a misdemeanor property matter, not a felony, regardless of who is behind the wheel. Pelosi has entered no plea as of this writing and remains presumed innocent.
Paul Pelosi charged with hit-and-run in Napa County
PAUL PELOSI FACES HIT-AND-RUN CHARGE AFTER STRIKING PARKED VEHICLE IN NAPA COUNTY, CA - FOX NEWS
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), the Speaker Emerita of the House and Paul Pelosi’s wife of over six decades, declined to answer reporters’ questions about the charges on July 17. When reporters pressed, a staffer stepped in and cut the exchange short.
“Ok, that's enough. That's enough!”
Pelosi staffer, to reporters · July 17, 2026 · via Fox News
The silence stood in contrast to the family’s written apology two weeks earlier, and it left the DA’s charging document — not the Speaker Emerita’s office — as the only on-the-record account of what prosecutors believe happened on Yount Street.
Exclusive: Paul Pelosi alleged hit-and-run case submitted to prosecutors, under review.
Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) — Speaker Emerita of the House; Paul Pelosi’s wife; declined to answer press questions about the charges on July 17.
Napa County DA Allison Haley — filed the misdemeanor hit-and-run and unsafe-turn charges on July 17. Her party affiliation is not documented; California DA races are officially nonpartisan.
Napa County Sheriff’s Office — investigated the collision, tested Pelosi at .00, and referred the case for charges.
This is Pelosi’s second Napa County driving-related legal matter in four years — and it is important to be precise about what that does and does not mean. In May 2022, Pelosi was involved in a separate, unrelated crash in Napa County and pleaded guilty that August to DUI Causing Injury. He served five days in jail, was placed on three years’ probation, and paid roughly $6,800 in combined fines and restitution — a sentence he has since fully served and completed. That case is closed.
The 2026 case is not a repeat of that DUI charge — alcohol was tested for and explicitly ruled out this time, and the new charges are for failing to stop and exchange information, not for impaired driving. It is also unrelated to the October 2022 home-invasion attack at the Pelosis’ San Francisco residence, in which Paul Pelosi was the victim of a violent assault, not a defendant. These are three separate incidents, four years apart, and none of them should be conflated with the others.
Paul Pelosi’s Maserati struck a parked, unoccupied Tesla in Yountville on July 3 and drove off before becoming disabled. Alcohol was tested and ruled out — a .00 reading. Two weeks later, Napa County DA Allison Haley charged him with misdemeanor hit-and-run and an unsafe-turn infraction, carrying a maximum of $1,000 and six months in jail. He was never arrested, has entered no plea, and is presumed innocent. His court date is August 14. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has said nothing on the record; a staffer cut off reporters who tried to ask.
