Driver Who Struck Nicki Minaj's Dad Gets A Year In Jail

The man who fatally injured Nicki Minaj’s father in a hit-and-run last year was sentenced Wednesday to a year behind bars.

Charles Polevich, who pleaded guilty in May to leaving the scene and tampering with evidence, also had his drivers license suspended for six months and was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine.

The 72-year-old was behind the wheel of a car that struck 64-year-old Robert Maraj as he walked on a road in Long Island, New York in February 2021. He died later in hospital.

In court, Maraj’s widow Carol said Polevich left her husband “like a dog on the street.” She has filed a civil suit against him.

Minaj, whose real name is Onika Maraj, called her father’s death “the most devastating loss of my life.”

His death came a little more than a year after her older brother Jelani Maraj was sentenced to 25 years in prison for sexually assaulting his 11-year-old stepdaughter repeatedly.