The man who fatally struck Nicki Minaj‘s father in a hit-and-run accident in New York in 2021 has been sentenced to one year in jail, PEOPLE confirms.
Charles Polevich, 71, was sentenced Wednesday following the death of Charles Maraj, 64, whom he hit with his Volvo on Long Island in February 2021. Newsday and TMZ were first to report the news.
Polevich must also pay a $5,000 fine and will have his driver’s license suspended, a spokesperson for the Nassau County Courthouse confirms.
“This is just a tragic situation and a situation which if, I think by all accounts, if [he] had stayed at the scene of this accident, this would’ve been a civil matter, not a criminal matter at all,” his attorney Marc Gann tells PEOPLE. “I don’t think he was responsible for the accident, but he was certainly responsible for the conduct after leaving the scene of the accident. And it’s my belief and strong opinion that he suffered from a medical issue, I think a heart issue, that resulted in his leaving the scene of the accident and not being able to recall his conduct or whereabouts thereafter.”
Nicki Minaj, 39, said shortly after losing her father that his death was “the most devastating loss” of her life.
“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,” she wrote on her website in May 2021. “I find myself wanting to call him all the time. More so now that he’s gone. Life is funny that way.”
Maraj died in the hospital one day after the incident, during which Polevich struck him with his 1992 Volvo station wagon as he walked in Mineola, New York. Police later said that Polevich was “absolutely aware of what happened” in the accident, but fled the scene anyway.
“He got out of the car, looked at the deceased, got into his car and made the conscious decision to leave instead of dialing 911 and calling an ambulance for the man. He went home and secreted his vehicle,” Nassau County Detective Lt. Stephen Fitzpatrick said at a press conference shortly after the incident.
Polevich pleaded guilty in May to two felony charges, including leaving the scene of a fatal crash and tampering with physical evidence.
