Posted by Chinenye on Wed 30th Sep, 2026 - tori.ng
A 72-year-old man has been arrested months after a crash that killed former child actress Kianna Underwood in Brooklyn.
(Kianna Underwood. Photo credit: New York Post)
Michael Griffiths, 72, has been arrested in connection with the death of former Nickelodeon child star Kianna Underwood, who was hit by vehicles on a Brooklyn street in January.
The NYPD said he was taken into custody on Tuesday and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident with injury.
Underwood, 33, was struck around 6:50am on January 16 in Brownsville while crossing at Watkins Street and Pitkin Avenue.
Surveillance footage showed her crossing against the light when a Ford SUV swerved over the double yellow line to pass a stopped car and hit her.
A second vehicle, a black and gray sedan, then ran over her and dragged her several hundred feet, according to a police source.
She was found at the junction of Osborn Street and Pitkin Avenue and pronounced dead at the scene.
Griffiths told the New York Daily News in late January that he felt he hit something but insisted he did nothing wrong.
He said he stopped, saw another car drag the person, and tried with bystanders to flag it down before leaving to take his medication.
He also said he felt he was about to faint.
Police impounded his 2021 Ford Explorer, which records show had been ticketed for 41 violations, including 25 for speeding.
Underwood appeared on the final season of the kids comedy show All That in 2005.
She had struggled with homelessness in recent years and was a familiar face on the Brownsville streets where she died.