Lawsuit Filed Over Hit-And-Run Death Of Nicki Minaj's Father On Long Island
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Nicki Minaj's mother has filed a $150 million lawsuit against the man accused of killing the rapper's father in a hit-and-run crash last month.
Investigators said 70-year-old Charles Polevich hit 64-year-old Robert Maraj on Feb. 12 in Mineola and drove off without calling 911. Maraj died the next day at the hospital.
Polevich pleaded not guilty to leaving the scene and tampering with evidence.
Minaj, who is estranged from her father, has not publicly commented on his death.
Newsday reported that Carol Maraj's lawsuit, filed in Nassau County state Supreme Court earlier this month, claims that Polevich was negligent, reckless and careless when he hit Maraj with his car and allegedly left him at the scene.
"He was not only irresponsible and negligent, but more concerned about running away and hiding than seeking help," Benjamin Crump, one of the attorneys representing Carol Maraj, said in an Instagram post Friday.
A telephone message was left Sunday with Polevich's attorney, listed in online court records as Marc Gann of Mineola.
Carol Maraj, the victim's estranged wife, told Newsday last month that she was "very, very, very happy" about Polevich's arrest and said all of Maraj's children "are pleased" that the alleged culprit was caught.
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)