Police in Brooklyn have arrested 72-year-old Michael Griffiths in connection with the fatal hit-and-run that killed former child actor Kianna Underwood. Officers took Griffiths into custody on Tuesday morning, ending an eight-month search following the crash on Pitkin Avenue in Brownsville. Authorities charged Griffiths with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and leaving the scene with injury.
Investigators built their case around the 2021 black Ford Explorer that Griffiths was allegedly driving. Records show the SUV had accumulated 41 traffic violations before that morning, including 25 tickets for speeding. NYPD detectives seized the vehicle back in January for forensic testing after identifying it on surveillance tapes, though they lacked enough proof at the time to charge a driver.
The crash happened around 6:50 a.m. on January 16 near Pitkin Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard. Underwood, 33, was crossing Pitkin Avenue in a marked crosswalk, though police said she was crossing against the signal. Detectives say Griffiths was driving westbound when he crossed double yellow lines to pass a vehicle turning right onto Mother Gaston Boulevard, striking Underwood.
As Underwood lay in the street, a second vehicle hit her. Police described the car as a black-and-gray sedan. The driver dragged her body for over two blocks before speeding away. Emergency workers pronounced Underwood dead at the scene. Police still have not identified or located that second driver.
Griffiths later admitted to driving the Ford Explorer that morning, but he disputed doing anything wrong. He claimed he stopped because he thought he hit something, got out, and saw people trying to help Underwood while flagging down the second car. Griffiths said he left before police arrived because he needed to take medication and felt like he was going to faint.
Detectives spent days tracking Griffiths down after the crash. When police came to his home and seized his vehicle, Griffiths refused to answer questions and told officers to speak with his lawyer. The arrest marks the first criminal charges in the case while the second driver remains at large.
Underwood started her career as a young actor in New York City, appearing in the 1999 movie The 24 Hour Woman at six years old. She later joined Nickelodeon’s All That for seven episodes and voiced Fuchsia Glover on Little Bill. In the years before her death, she experienced homelessness and lived on the streets in Brownsville, where local shop owners sometimes gave her food and cash.
Her death occurred alongside another loss for former Nickelodeon cast members. Around the same time as Griffiths’ arrest, news emerged that All That actor Christy Knowings died at age 46 in Los Angeles after suffering an asthma attack that led to brain damage. For residents in Brownsville, the arrest brings one part of the investigation to a close while police continue searching for the second vehicle.
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