A man has been arrested over the death of Nicki Minaj’s father, police in New York City have said.
Charles Polevich, 70, was detained after turning himself in, Detective Lieutenant Stephen Fitzpatrick of the New York City Police Department said on Wednesday.
The musician’s father, Robert Maraj, was walking along a road in Mineola on Long Island at 6:15 p.m. Friday when he was hit by a car that kept going, Nassau County police said.
Polevich, who splits time between Long Island and Guam, is free on bail following an arraignment in Nassau County court. As a result of his arrest, his driver’s license has been suspended, he was ordered to surrender his passport and a judge said he can’t leave the state.
“He was absolutely aware of what happened,” Nassau County Police Detective Lt. 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 dialing 911, instead of calling an ambulance for the man,” Fitzpatrick said. “He went home and secluded the vehicle. He’s well aware of what he did.”
According to Det Lt Fitzpatrick: “Mr Povelich did stop at that time, but then fled after that once he saw that he had injured this person”.
The police officer added that Polevich may not have faced charges had he not fled the scene.
Minaj, whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj, was born in Trinidad before being raised in the New York City borough of Queens.
The death of her father comes just four months after she welcomed her first child with husband Kenneth Petty.
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