The father of popular rapper Nicki Minaj has died after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in New York, police said.
Robert Maraj, 64, was walking along a road in Mineola on Long Island at 6:15 p.m. Friday when he was hit by a car and the driver didn’t stop but continued going, the Nassau County Police Department said in a statement. The man was taken to a nearby hospital, but sadly died on Saturday, the report said.
The homicide squad is investigating, and police are asking any witnesses to the fatal crash to come forward.
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.
Robert Maraj’s death comes about a year his son, Jelani Maraj, was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in a New York prison after being convicted of raping his 11-year-old stepdaughter while her mother was at work. Jelani Maraj is Nikki’s older brother.
Judge Robert McDonald sentenced Jelani Maraj, now 42, several months after the verdict was reached. Read the story here
Nicki Minaj’s brother sentenced to 25 years to life for repeatedly raping 11-year-old stepdaughter
