Man arrested over hit-and-run death of Nicki Minaj’s father
17 February 2021, 18:24
Charles Polevich faces charges in connection with the incident on New York’s Long Island last week.
A 70-year-old man arrested in connection with the hit-and-run death of rapper Nicki Minaj’s father stopped briefly to ask the injured man if he was OK but did not call for help, police said.
Charles Polevich faces charges of leaving the scene of an incident and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the death last week of 64-year-old Robert Maraj on New York’s Long Island.
Polevich, who splits his time between Long Island and Guam, is free on bail following a hearing in Nassau County court.
As a result of his arrest, his driver’s licence has been suspended, he was ordered to surrender his passport and a judge said he could not leave the state.
“He was absolutely aware of what happened,” Nassau County Police detective lieutenant Stephen Fitzpatrick said at a news conference.
“He got out of the car and he looked at the deceased, got into his car, and made the conscious decision to leave instead of dialling 911, instead of calling an ambulance for the man.
“He went home and secluded the vehicle. He’s well aware of what he did.”
Mr Maraj was struck by a car at 6.15pm on Friday while walking along Roslyn Road in Mineola. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead on Saturday.
Police said Polevich got out of his car after hitting Mr Maraj, stood over him and asked if he was OK before walking back to his car and fleeing the scene.
They said he then went home and parked his car in a detached garage in an attempt to conceal it from view.
Polevich was arrested on Wednesday after detectives used pieces of surveillance video to track the car involved in the crash — a white, 1992 Volvo station wagon — to Polevich’s Mineola home, Mr Fitzpatrick said.
Minaj, 38, was born Onika Tanya Maraj in Trinidad and was raised in the New York City borough of Queens. She has not made any public statement about her father’s death.
Minaj spoke in the past about having a strained relationship with her father.
In interviews, she said Robert Maraj suffered from drug addiction and was abusive towards her mother, once setting fire to their house with her inside.
Minaj referenced her father in the 2008 song Autobiography, rapping: “They shoulda thrown the book at you, ’cause I hate you so much that it burn when I look at you.”
Robert Maraj called his daughter’s claims “exaggerated.”
