The 64-year-old father of rapper Nicki Minaj has died after being struck by a hit-and-run motorist in New York, police said.
Robert Maraj was crossing the street in the village of Mineola on Long Island on Friday at 6:15 p.m when he was hit by an “undescribed” vehicle that left the scene, according to a statement from the Nassau County Police Department.
Maraj, who lived in Mineola, was transported to a local hospital in critical condition on Friday night. He succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead by a hospital physician on Saturday, police said.
The Nassau County Police Department’s Homicide Squad is investigating the fatal incident. Detectives are asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
Minaj has not yet made any public statement about her father’s death. ABC News has reached out to Minaj’s representatives for comment.
The 38-year-old rapper, whose real name is Onika Tanya Maraj, was born on the Caribbean island of Trinidad. Minaj’s parents moved to the United States before she joined them there a couple of years later at the age of 5. She was raised in the New York City borough of Queens.
