Nicki Minaj breaks silence on dad’s death: ‘Most devastating loss of my life’
"I can say it has been the most devastating loss of my life."
Three months after her father was struck and killed by a driver in New York, Nick Minaj is finally breaking her silence over his death.
On Friday, fans of the hip-hop icon were treated to the re-release of her 2009 mixtape Beam Me Up Scotty. Along with it came a lengthy letter posted to her website addressing the “devastating loss” of her father, Robert Maraj.
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“Tho I can’t really bring myself to discuss the passing of my father as yet; I can say it has been the most devastating loss of my life,” Minaj wrote, as reported by PEOPLE. “I find myself wanting to call him all the time. More so now that he’s gone. Life is funny that way.”
“May his soul rest in paradise. He was very loved & will be very missed,” she continued. Minaj also reacted to the death of rapper DMX.
“The passing of DMX hit me like a ton of bricks,” she wrote. “Losing him felt like losing someone I grew up with. I adored him. Blessings to his family.”
As theGrio previously reported, Maraj died in a February hit-and-run accident in Mineola, New York. Nassau County Police said the 64-year-old was walking between Roslyn Road and Raff Avenue when he was hit by a vehicle heading northbound, per TMZ.
Driver Charles Polevich, 70, initially fled after the accident but reportedly turned himself in to police and was charged with leaving the scene of an accident with a fatality and tampering with evidence. Minaj’s mother filed a $150 million lawsuit against Polevich.
In a statement shared on social media, her lawyer Ben Crump noted that Polevich was “not only irresponsible and negligent but more concerned about running away and hiding than seeking help.”
“Polevich’s behavior was criminal, cowardly, and immoral,” Crump continued. “We will hold him responsible for his reckless actions that led to Robert Maraj’s death!”
Marc Craig Gann, Polevich’s attorney, told TMZ: “My client empathizes with the family. The question of whether there was negligence and degrees of negligence will be determined by the court. The $150 million amount seems to be over the top.”
Read More: Nicki Minaj’s father killed in a hit-and-run accident
Charged with 2 felonies — leaving the scene of an accident that led to death and tampering with or suppressing physical evidence — Polevich pled not guilty and was released on a $250,000 bond, according to TMZ.
Detective Lt Stephen Fitzpatrick of the Nassau County Police Department, as reported by The Daily Mail, said Polevich, “was absolutely aware of what happened.” Fitzpatrick elaborated, saying, “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.”
Per a police statement, Polevich could have avoided criminal charges altogether had he remained on the scene after the accident and exhibited no signs that he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
theGRIO’s Ashley Terrell contributed to this report.
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