Robert Maraj, the father of Nicki Minaj, was killed as a result of a hit-and-run accident in New York on Friday, Feb. 12. Now it is being reported that the alleged driver turned himself into police custody on Wednesday morning.
The suspect is 71-year-old Charles Polevich of Guam. He has been charged with leaving the scene of an auto accident and tampering with evidence.
Maraj was walking down a roadway when he was struck by a vehicle in Mineola, Long Island, heading north between Roslyn Road and Raff Avenue around 6 p.m. local time, according to Nassau County Police. Bystanders who were at the scene could not give details as to the appearance of the suspect, who fled quickly, TMZ reported. Maraj was hospitalized and succumbed to his injuries the following day.
Minaj has not made a public statement about her father’s death, but she has mentioned him in prior interviews, speaking about his substance abuse and how it affected her family growing up in Queens, New York.
However, in 2012 she told The Guardian that Maraj had cleaned up and was on the road to recovery.
“He’s still with my mother. He went to rehab and cleaned himself up. Eventually they started going to church a lot, and he got saved and started changing his life,’ she said. “He’s away from drugs now. He doesn’t instill fear in people any more.”
Many of her fans, who she affectionately refers to as “Barbz” sent their condolences.
“PRAYERS TO NICKI THIS IS SO HEARTBREAKING💔🙏.”
“Omg 🙏🏾 God give her strength ❤️❤️.”
Celebrities such as Tyrese also sent their love and prayers to Nicki.
“Jesus omg this really breaks my heart prayers for you queen…. I’m so sorry prayers….,” wrote Tyrese.
WNBA legend Lisa Leslie wrote, “🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾Super sad😢😢😢.”
Since giving birth to her son, Nicki hasn’t been very active on social media. Her last post was a selfie with Blac Chyna on January 9 and prior to that she dedicated a birthday post to her younger sister. However, it was her January 2 post that garnered a lot of buzz in which she revealed the very first photos of her newborn son.
