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- Nicki Minaj opened up about the death of her father, Robert Maraj, for the first time.
- Minaj, 38, shared the statement as part of a letter published to her official website.
- Minaj's mother filed a lawsuit against the man who killed Maraj in a hit-and-run accident.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
Nicki Minaj has broken her silence on the sudden death of her father, who was killed in a February hit-and-run accident.
The rapper made the remarks in a lengthy letter to fans published on her official website this week. In the letter, the 38-year-old shared several updates about her life, including her love for Netflix's "The Crown," her pregnancy cravings, and praise for late actor Chadwick Boseman's performance in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."
Towards the end of the letter, Minaj said that the loss of her father, Robert Maraj, was "devastating."
"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," wrote Minaj, who gave birth to a baby boy in September.
"I find myself wanting to call him all the time. More so now that he's gone. Life is funny that way," she wrote.
Minaj added that her father was "very loved & will be very missed."
Insider confirmed in February that Maraj, age 64, was killed after he was struck by a vehicle in Mineola, New York.
The Nassau County Police Department told Insider that Maraj was walking on a roadway between Roslyn Road and Raff Avenue when the accident occurred. He was transported to a local hospital, where he was in critical condition before succumbing to his injuries.
Four days after his death, authorities said 70-year-old Charles Polevich was arrested in connection with the incident after turning himself in.
In a news conference, Nassau County Police Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said Polevich was "absolutely aware of what happened" during the incident, the Associated Press reported.
"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," said Fitzpatrick.
He continued: "He went home and secluded the vehicle. He's well aware of what he did."
Polevich was charged with leaving the scene of an auto accident with a fatality and tampering with evidence.
In March, Minaj's mother filed a $150 million lawsuit against Polevich. Carol Maraj hired attorneys Ben Crump and Napoli Shkolnik, who released a statement about the lawsuit on her behalf.
-Ben Crump Law, PLLC (@BenCrumpLaw) March 19, 2021
"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," Crump and Napoli wrote in a statement.
"His behavior was criminal, cowardly and, immoral," the statement said. "Through the filing of this lawsuit, we intend to hold Polevich responsible for his reckless actions and achieve justice for the victim's widow."
Polevich's attorney, Marc C. Gann, said in a statement to Billboard that his client expressed sympathies 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," Gann wrote. "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."