EXCLUSIVE: Pelosi's multi-millionaire husband Paul killed his 19-year-old brother when he lost control and flipped his sports car in early-morning 'joyride' when he was 16-years-old - 65 years before this weekend's arrest for drunk driving crash
- Paul Pelosi was 16 when he flipped his sports car and killed his older brother who was his passenger
- According to reports at the time David Pelosi had urged him to slow down as he approached a tight curve on California's Skyline Highway
- But Paul lost control as he tried to slow down and his car bounced between embankments, somersaulted and landed upside down trapping both
- Paul broke his collarbone but managed to get free and summon aid
- But David, 19, was strangled by a brace he wore to support a neck fracture he had sustained in a diving accident
- Paul, 82, was arrested on Saturday for drunk driving after he drove his Porsche into the path of oncoming Jeep driven by Jesus Lopez, 48
- Lopez was not charged and neither man was injured
Nancy Pelosi's husband killed his brother in an early morning car wreck 65 years before his latest arrest for drunk driving, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.
Paul Pelosi was just 16, a high school sophomore, when his sports car flipped over in February 1957 in Northern California.
A newspaper report at the time said Paul, a high school sophomore, would be cited for misdemeanor manslaughter. In the end there was no court case and he was exonerated by a coroner's jury.
His brother David, 19, had urged him to drive slower before the fatal smash, according to a patrolman quoted by the San Francisco Examiner.
Paul Pelosi's blood alcohol level was over the California limit of 0.08% according to police. He is pictured toasting actress Nicole Kidman during a Futures Without Violence event in 2017
Pelosi's accident made news at the time. The San Francisco Examiner reported it on Page 6 in its February 23, 1957 edition saying David had warned Paul to slow down
Paul Pelosi has amassed a personal fortune of around $135 million, making his wife Nancy, 82, one of the richest members of Congress
'This is a bad stretch – better slow down,' David is said to have told his younger brother as he approached a tight curve near the Crystal Springs Dam on the Skyline Highway – now California State Route 35.
Paul, now 82, told Patrolman Thomas Ganley he tried to slow by shifting gears in the stick shift car, but lost control.
'The car veered across the road, bounced back from a small embankment, climbed 20 feet up another, spun around and somersaulted simultaneously and ended upside down on the shoulder with both youths underneath,' reported the Examiner.
The crash occurred at 2:40 am on February 22, 1957. Paul had picked up his brother from a girlfriend's house in San Francisco and the siblings decided to go on a joyride rather than go straight home.
David Pelosi, a freshman at the College of San Mateo, was dead on arrival at the hospital.
The newspaper said David was probably strangled by a brace he wore to support a neck fracture he had sustained when he dived into shallow water in Lake Tahoe.
The San Mateo Times reported that Ganley and another patrolman Jack Rakestraw noted that David's brace was 'lodged tightly against his neck'.
'They jacked up the car to relieve the pressure but the youth apparently was already dead,' the Times reported.
Paul broke his collarbone in the crash and was trapped under the car for a while. He managed to free himself and call for aid.
More recently he was cited twice in 2011, once for running a red light and once for veering over the center line while driving.
The fatal accident happened six years before Paul married Nancy D'Alesandro, the daughter of a former Baltimore mayor. She took his last name and went on to be elected to Congress in 1987 and then became the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Paul Pelosi married Nancy D'Alesandro in the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore on September 7, 1963
Paul Pelosi was in the background (center) when she and former congressman John Burton celebrated her first election to the US House of Representatives in 1987
Paul and Nancy Pelosi celebrated her Baltimore roots with Sen. Ben Cardin and then Sen. Barbara Mikulski when a street was named for her in 2007
Paul Pelosi was released on $5,000 bail following the weekend accident. He is pictured taking selfies of himself and wife Nancy at the 2010 World Series in San Francisco
As owner of Financial Leasing Services, he has amassed a personal fortune of around $135 million, making his wife one of the richest members of Congress.
On Saturday Paul was driving his 2021 Porsche home from a dinner party when he pulled on to State Route 29 into the path of Jesus Lopez, 48, who was driving north in Jeep.
Lopez was not arrested and neither man was injured. Requests for comment both from Nancy Pelosi and her husband were not immediately returned.
Photos from the scene, obtained by ABC News, showed that the vehicles crashed into a wooden fence.
He was arrested for the incident at 10.22pm on Saturday. Bail was set at $5,000 and he was released Sunday morning.
In a statement on Monday, Paul Pelosi's lawyer said: 'Mr. Pelosi was attending a dinner party at the home of friends near Oakville. He left that party at 10:15pm Saturday, to drive to his home a short distance away. He was alone in his car.
'Mr. Pelosi was fully cooperative with California Highway Patrol officers who arrived a few minutes later.'
On Tuesday morning, a cop was seen measuring the accident scene where Paul Pelosi's Porsche was hit by a Jeep in Oakville, California
The officer took pictures of the scene for possible use in Pelosi's upcoming trial
The only visual reminder of Saturday's accident was a No Parking sign knocked out of the ground and a broken fence
Paul Pelosi pulled out on to the highway from Walnut Lane in Oakville, California.His Porsche was hit by an oncoming vehicle
Jesus Lopez, the driver of the Jeep was not charged in relation to the accident. Neither man was injured
Pelosi was struck as he tried to cross the St. Helena Highway in Napa on Saturday at 10.22pm. He pulled out of Walnut Lane, five miles south of the home he shares with Nancy
Nancy and Paul Pelosi's vineyard in St Helena, Napa, is one of the many properties they own
His wife was in Rhode Island at the time, where she delivered the commencement address at Brown University. Paul Pelosi was alone in the car.
'The Speaker will not be commenting on this private matter which occurred while she was on the East Coast,' her office said.
DailyMail.com obtained Paul Pelosi's arrest report which reveals he was driving eastbound on Walnut Lane, a quiet tree-lined street in Oakville, five miles south of the Pelosis' vineyard in St Helena, on Saturday.
He pulled out on to the highway to try to cross it, passing a stop sign.
He was struck at the crossing by Lopez, who traveling north in his Jeep on the state road.
Pelosi was found to have been over the legal blood alcohol limit. He was booked on two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence and driving with a blood alcohol content level of 0.08% or higher.
The couple own a vineyard in Napa, in addition to a home in nearby San Francisco.
Nancy Pelosi, 82, does not drink, according to previous statements given by her representatives, but the couple sell wine produced on their land.
The sprawling estate is one of many the couple owns.
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