Nicki Minaj's mother is now suing the Long Island man charged in the hit-and-run that resulted in the death of the rapper's father.
The $150 million civil lawsuit was filed Friday on behalf of Carol Maraj, her lawyers Ben Crump and Paul Napoli announced.
Robert Maraj was walking along a road in Mineola on Long Island last month when he was hit by a car that kept going, Nassau County police said. Maraj was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead the next day.
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“Charles Polevich was not only irresponsible and negligent in hitting Robert Maraj, but he was more concerned about running away and hiding himself than in seeking help for the man he injured," a statement from her lawyers said. "Through the filling of this lawsuit, we intend to hold Polevich responsible for his reckless actions and achieve justice for the victim's widow."
Polevich's attorney shared a statement with USA TODAY and called the amount named in the lawsuit "shocking to say the least and I don't believe is in any way reasonable."
“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,” Marc Gann, his attorney, said.
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Minaj, 38, was born Onika Tanya Maraj in Trinidad and was raised in the New York City borough of Queens. She has not made any public statement about her father's death.
