Nicki Minaj’s mother has filed a civil lawsuit against Charles Polevich, the man who is accused of killing the rapper’s father in a hit-and-run collision.
According to USA Today, the $150 million suit was filed by Carol Maraj’s legal team on Friday, more than a month after Robert Maraj’s death. The 64-year-old man was reportedly walking alongside a Long Island road on Feb. 12, when he was hit by a vehicle driven by Polevich. Nassau County Police Department says Polevich had briefly stopped his car to check if Robert Maraj was OK, but ultimately fled the scene without calling for help. Robert Maraj was transported to a hospital shortly after, and died just hours later.
“He was absolutely aware of what happened,” Nassau County Police Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick told reporters last month, according to the Associated Press. “He got out of the car and he looked at the deceased, got into his car, and made the conscious decision to leave instead of dialing 911, instead of calling an ambulance for the man,” Fitzpatrick said. “He went home and secluded the vehicle. He’s well aware of what he did.”
Carol Maraj’s attorney, Ben Crump, confirmed the lawsuit on social media Friday, calling Polevich’s behavior “criminal, cowardly, and immoral.”
Polevich was arrested just days after the deadly collision and was charged with leaving the scene of an incident and tampering with physical evidence. His attorney Marc C. Gann addressed the $150 million lawsuit in a statement to USA Today:
Mr. Polevich has expressed empathy and condolences to the Maraj family,”While the civil suit is not unexpected, the criminal charges pending against Mr. Polevich have no bearing on the civil case. It has yet to be determined whether there was any negligence involved in the accident or the degrees of any negligence. I will add that the amount demanded is shocking to say the least and I don’t believe is in any way reasonable.”
