Washington » Sen. Orrin Hatch acknowledged Wednesday that he nearly hit a pedestrian with his Cadillac during a rainstorm outside the Capitol the night before and that he called police to alert them to the incident.

Hatch spokesman Mark Eddington said in a statement that the Utah Republican "narrowly missed" a pedestrian who was crossing the street near the Dirksen Senate Office building, which is adjacent to Hatch's Senate office.

The senator was driving slowly, Eddington said, when Hatch suddenly saw an umbrella "come down on his car."

"He immediately stopped, looked to his left and saw a woman who appeared to have jumped back clear of the vehicle," Eddington said. "She seemed shaken and was obviously upset."

The senator, "who had not seen her and was mortified by what had nearly happened," rolled down his window and apologized, Eddington added.

The spokesman said witnesses reported that the unidentified woman was OK and the senator continued to drive to his home in nearby Virginia and then alerted the Capitol Police about the incident.

"The senator feels terrible about the close call, but is so grateful the woman was not injured," Eddington said.

While Hatch may have made a call to Capitol Police, an agency spokeswoman, Sgt. Kimberly Schneider, says there was no report filed on the incident. The woman did not file a report, either.

The Washington Post

's Sleuth blog quoted an anonymous source who said that Hatch actually "grazed" the woman but the Post added that Senate Sergeant At Arms Terrance Gainer noted the matter had been put to rest because the woman had not come forward to complain.

A violent storm raged in Washington on Tuesday night, prompting severe weather warnings and a flash flood watch.

tburr@sltrib.com