Paul Pelosi, 86, the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, faces new hit-and-run charges following a recent collision. This incident adds to a history of traffic incidents, including a DUI arrest in May 2022 and a fatal crash that killed his older brother decades ago.
In May 2022, Pelosi was arrested for driving under the influence after his convertible collided with a parked car in Napa County. The 86-year-old businessman had been leaving a dinner engagement when he drove approximately six miles towards his Napa Valley home. At the time of the crash, his blood alcohol content was measured at 0.082%. He subsequently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence causing injury. Court documents indicated that Pelosi had undergone cataract surgery days before the incident, which could have potentially affected his driving. He was sentenced to five days in jail, ordered to pay fines and restitution, complete a DUI program, and was placed on three years of probation.
This 2022 incident is not the first serious traffic accident involving Paul Pelosi. In February 1957, when he was 16 years old, he was driving a sports car near San Mateo, south of San Francisco, when the vehicle flipped. His 19-year-old brother, David, who was a passenger, died in the crash. According to a patrolman quoted at the time, David had urged his younger brother to drive more slowly. The vehicle reportedly somersaulted and landed upside down. While Paul Pelosi was trapped under the car but managed to free himself and call for help, his brother sustained a neck fracture and reportedly died from strangulation by a brace he was wearing. Pelosi was initially cited for misdemeanor manslaughter but was later exonerated by a coroner's jury.
Pelosi also accumulated two minor traffic infractions in 2011. He was cited for running a red light and for veering over the center line while driving.