Carol Maraj, the mother of Trinidadian-born rapper, Nicki Minaj, has filed a $150m lawsuit against the man accused of killing Minaj’s father in a hit-and-run crash last month, an attorney for Maraj said.
Charles Polevich, 70, is accused of striking Robert Maraj, 64, on Long Island on February 12 and driving off without calling 911. The rapper’s father died at a hospital the next day.
Polevich was arrested on February 17 on charges of leaving the scene of an incident and tampering with physical evidence. He pleaded not guilty and was freed on bail and ordered not to leave New York state.
Theguardian.com reports that Carol Maraj’s lawsuit, filed in Nassau county state supreme court earlier this month, claims 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, the attorney known for his work on civil rights cases and with families of victims of police brutality, representing Carol Maraj, said in an Instagram.
Polevich’s attorney, listed in online court records as Marc Gann of Mineola, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nicki Minaj, who was born Onika Tanya Maraj, has not made any public statement on her father’s death.
Carol Maraj, the victim’s estranged wife, told Newsday 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.
