Nicki Minaj’s Father Killed in Hit-and-Run Accident – Report
UPDATE (Feb. 17):
A rep for the Nassau County Police Department confirmed to XXL on Wednesday (Feb. 17) that the man accused of killing Nicki Minaj's father, Robert Maraj, in a hit-and-run accident has been arrested.
According to a report from TMZ earlier today, police arrested 70-year-old Charles Polevich, who has been arraigned and charged with two felonies: leaving scene of incident involving death of a person and tampering with or suppressing physical evidence.
Polevich has reportedly received a bail set for $250,000, had to surrender his passport and has been restricted from traveling outside of New York.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Nicki Minaj's father, Robert Maraj, was reportedly killed in a hit-and-run accident in New York.
The incident reportedly occurred in the Mineola neighborhood of Nassau County, N.Y., and was initially reported by local outlet Newsday on Feb. 12 and then updated by the Associated Press earlier today (Feb. 14). The Nassau County Police say a man, who was unidentified at the time, was walking on the street between Roslyn Road and Raff Avenue on the evening of Feb. 12 when he was struck by a motorist around 6 p.m. EST.
The driver then fled the scene. The victim was taken a nearby hospital in critical condition. According to a TMZ report published on Sunday (Feb. 14), the man, later identified as Minaj's father, succumbed to his injuries over the weekend. He was 64 years old.
Police have reportedly opened a homicide investigation in light of Maraj's death, but they are reportedly at a loss because they do not have a description of the vehicle that struck him. Nicki Minaj has yet to address the passing of her father, publicly.
XXL has reached out to Nicki's team and the Nassau County Police Department for comment on the tragic news.
The news of Nicki's father's passing comes just four months after she gave birth to her first child with husband, Kenneth Petty. Nicki has been noticeably absent from the rap scene in recent months, appearing sparingly as a feature artist, as she raises her infant son. In January, Nicki shared the first photos of her baby boy, whom she has affectionately nicknamed Papa Bear.
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