Tobias Sylvester
A hit-and-run driver, Charles Polevich, 70, who allegedly killed Robert Maraj, the 64-year-old father of American rapper Nicki Manaj, has turned himself in to the police.
KanyiDaily had reported how Robert was killed after being hit by a vehicle that left the scene of the accident between Roslyn Road and Raff Avenue in Nassau County, New York.
According to PageSix, Polevich turned himself in Wednesday morning for hitting Robert who he allegedly left to die instead of calling 911 or an ambulance.
Polevich surrendered to police after officers tracked him down to his home in Mineola and found his damaged car in the garage.
Nassau County Police Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick, the commanding officer of the homicide squad, described the incident in greater detail during a press conference Wednesday.
Fitzpatrick told reporters that Polveich was driving his 1992 white Volvo station wagon northbound on Roslyn Road when he struck Maraj, who was walking in the road at about 6:15 p.m on Friday, possibly due to snow pileups on the sidewalk.
Polevich initially got out of his car, observed Maraj lying on the ground, then got back behind the wheel and drove to his home, where he then parked his Volvo in the garage and covered it up, according to police.
“He was absolutely aware of what happened,” Fitzpatrick said. “He looked at the deceased and made the conscious decision to leave instead of dialing 911, instead of calling an ambulance for the man. He went home and secreted the vehicle, so he is well aware of what he did.”
After he was hit, Robert was rushed to a local hospital and listed in critical condition — then succumbed to his injuries at some point over the weekend, police said.
Detectives used surveillance video from the neighborhood to track the vehicle involved in the hit-and-run crash to Polevich’s home in the 160 block of Roselle Street in Mineola.
“We were able to track that vehicle prior to the accident as well as after the accident and tracked it right to his house,” Fitzpatrick said, adding that Polevich allegedly hid the car in his garage.
Had Polevich not fled the scene, the incident may have been classified as an auto accident with no criminal charges. But since he took off, the police couldn’t evaluate whether he was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision.
Polevich was arraigned in Nassau County District Court on charges of leaving the scene of an incident causing death and tampering with physical evidence.
On Wednesday, a judge set Polevich’s bail at $250,000, suspended his driver’s license and ordered him to surrender his passports. He is due back in court on Friday.
The tragic news comes four months after Nicki Minaj welcomed her first child with husband, Kenneth Petty.
