Driver arrested for allegedly killing Nicki Minaj's father in hit-and-run


(FILES) In this file photo US rapper Nicki Minaj arrives for the 2019 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2019, in New York. - The father of rapper Nicki Minaj has died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver near New York City, police said on February 14, 2021. Robert Maraj, 64, was walking on a road in Mineola, Long Island at 6:15 pm (2315 GMT) on Friday when he was hit, Nassau County Police Department said in a statement.The driver left the scene of the accident, and Maraj was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead on Saturday. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

(NEW YORK/AFP ) - A driver accused of striking and killing US rapper Nicki Minaj's father in a hit-and-run has been arrested, police said Wednesday.

Charles Polevich, 70, was charged with "Leaving the Scene of an Accident with a Fatality and Tampering with Evidence," New York state's Nassau County Police said on Twitter.

Polevich, who pleaded not guilty, was released on a $250,000 bond, his lawyer Michael Scotto told CNN.

Minaj's 64-year-old father Robert Maraj was walking down the street in the municipality of Mineola on Long Island on Friday when he was struck by a car.

The driver fled the scene and Maraj was taken to the hospital where he died Saturday.

Minaj, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago but raised in a Queens neighborhood not far from where her father was struck, has not yet issued an official statement.