Robert Maraj, 64, was hospitalized in critical condition and died later.
The father of rapper Nicki Minaj, 64, died after being hit by a driver who fled and ran over in New York, police said.
Robert Maraj was crossing the street in the village of Mineola on Long Island on Friday at 6:15 pm when he was hit by an “undisclosed” vehicle that left the site, 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 doctor on Saturday, police said.
The Homicide Squad of the Nassau County Police Department 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 yet to make any public statements about his father’s death. ABC News contacted Minaj 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, a few years later, at the age of 5. She was raised in the Queens neighborhood of New York.
In a 2012 interview with ABC News’ Juju Chang that aired on “Nightline”, Minaj talked about her difficult education in a violent neighborhood and her complicated relationship with her father, who she said was a crack addict.
“It was so devastating because it’s like losing – it’s like someone dying,” said Minaj of her father’s addiction.
Minaj said he witnessed “a lot” of violence as a child and that his father was “abusive” to his mother.
“It would be like a very strong explosion and we were afraid for her life, because whenever he had a very strong explosion, he threatened to kill her,” she said.
When asked how she felt about her father as a child, Minaj said she was “angry” and “wanted to kill him”. She said she created alter egos to deal with the situation, which she put on display in her hip-hop music.
Minaj’s father told ABC News at the time that he has been clean and sober for years.
Joshua Hoyos of ABC News contributed to this report.