Police Arrest Driver Who Killed Nicki Minaj's Father During Hit-And-Run

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The man who struck and killed Nicki Minaj's father has been arrested.

Police announced that 70-year-old Charles Polevich was arrested by Nassau County Police on Wednesday, February 17, according to reports. Polevich was allegedly the driver of the vehicle that hit Nicki's dad, Robert Maraj, on Friday, February 12, while walking in Mineola, New York. He is being charged with leaving the scene of an accident with a fatality and tampering with evidence. Authorities say that Polevich knowing left the scene instead of calling for help.

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Polevich, who eventually surrendered himself to Nassau County Police, struck 64-year-old Maraj between Roslyn Road and Raff Avenue and knowingly proceeded to flee the scene, according to police.

"He's absolutely aware of what happened," Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said at a press conference. "He got out of the car, looked at the deceased, got into his car and made the conscious decision to leave instead of dialing 911 and calling an ambulance for the man. He went home and secreted his vehicle."

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Maraj's alleged killer resides in Guam but has a home in Mineola. Police were able to use nearby video footage to track down the vehicle to his address. Polevich struck Maraj with a 1992 Volvo Station Wagon, which Lt. Fitzpatrick says is "more distinctive than modern cars."

"He did things to alter us from being able to discover the car," Fitzpatrick said, referring to how Polevich covered the vehicle in question with a tarp. "We were able to track that vehicle prior to the accident as well as after the accident and we just tracked it to his house."

Fitzpatrick did say that authorities are in contact with Maraj's family but did not specify if he meant Nicki.

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As we previously mentioned, Polevich struck Maraj around 6 pm on Friday between Roslyn Road and Raff Avenue. Maraj was taken to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries.

Nicki, self-admittedly, had a rocky relationship with her father and has not yet addressed his passing publicly despite multiple outlets' efforts to get a comment.