A man allegedly connected to the hit-and-run death of former child television star Kianna Underwood has been arrested.
Court records reviewed by the Daily Mail show that Michael Griffiths, 72, was taken into custody Tuesday by the New York City Police Department.
Underwood was struck by two vehicles in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood shortly before 7 a.m. on January 16.
The former All That star, who was 33, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Griffiths faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury. He is scheduled to return to court October 27.
In a January interview with the New York Daily News, Griffiths acknowledged that he was behind the wheel of the Ford SUV that initially struck Underwood. He maintained, however, that he had “done nothing wrong.”
The Daily Mail said it contacted Griffiths’ attorney, the NYPD and the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for comment, but had not received responses.
Michael Griffiths, 72, was arrested Tuesday in New York City and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident with injury in connection with the January 16 hit-and-run death of former Nickelodeon star Kianna Underwood; Above, Underwood appears on All That
Griffiths told the New York Daily News in January that he was driving the Ford SUV that first struck Underwood but insisted he had “done nothing wrong”; Above, Underwood, third from left, is pictured with her All That castmates in 2005
The New York Post was first to report Griffiths’ arrest.
According to the report, Griffiths was driving a 2021 Ford Explorer when it allegedly hit Underwood after she entered the roadway without waiting for the walk signal at Watkins Street and Pitkin Avenue.
Security footage obtained by the Post appeared to show the Explorer crossing the double yellow lines while passing a vehicle stopped in the center of the lane.
The SUV then reportedly struck Underwood, sending her body across the intersection.
A police source told the Post that a second vehicle hit Underwood moments later and dragged her “several hundred feet”—a distance of more than two blocks.
Underwood suffered catastrophic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
It remains unclear whether investigators have identified the driver of the second vehicle.
In January, Griffiths reportedly told authorities that he was obtaining a lawyer and would not answer questions about the fatal crash.
Kianna Underwood, pictured as a child on All That, was identified as the victim of a Friday morning hit-and-run
Surveillance footage showed Underwood leaving a doorstep in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood before waiting near the intersection of Pitkin Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard
Authorities impounded Griffiths’ vehicle and reportedly reviewed surveillance footage to determine whether he was driving when Underwood was struck. At the time, his identity had not been publicly disclosed.
Records obtained by the Daily News showed that Griffiths’s vehicle in the past had been ticketed for 41 violations, 25 of which were for speeding.
Shocking surveillance footage from the scene obtained by CBS News showed Underwood leaving a doorstep in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn on Friday morning and waiting at the intersection of Pitkin Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard.
She reportedly did not wait for the walk symbol when she was struck by the SUV driver, who was heading west on Pitkin Avenue and had a green light, but veered across double yellow lines to pass another vehicle, according to the Daily News.
The driver could be seen in the surveillance footage going against traffic and striking Underwood before it disappears from the video frame without slowing down.
Underwood was then struck moments later by the driver of a black and gray sedan, which dragged her body for more than two blocks before it came loose near the intersection of Pitkin and Osborn Streets.
That driver also failed to stop, but several people appeared not to notice the body until a few witnesses reached for their phones.
Griffiths claimed to the New York Daily News that he had stopped and tried to flag down other drivers to help when he saw a second car strike her and drag her body.
Underwood was then struck by a black 2021 Ford Explorer after it veered across double yellow lines to pass another vehicle
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However, Griffiths then left the scene, which he claimed was because he needed to take medication, and he said he ‘felt like I was going to faint when the incident happened.’
The former child actress ‘sustained severe trauma to the head and body,’ police said, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
One day later, her devastated father, Anthony Underwood, shared a heartbreaking Facebook post in which he compared his daughter’s death to the time he saw a fox get run over in the Catskills Mountains.
‘Another driver pulled over and picked the fox up who was still alive and put it on the side of the road,’ he recalled. ‘All I can think about is did anyone show my baby that same compassion, as someone ran her over like roadkill.’
It now seems that Underwood, who starred in shows like All That and Little Bill, fell on hard times since her time as a child actor.
Two years ago, Angelique Bates, 45, sounded alarms about Underwood, who had been homeless in New York City, and she took to social media to call out their former crew members for not reaching out to her.
In November 2023, she shared an Instagram video and called out Nickelodeon for turning a blind eye.
Underwood was then struck moments later by the driver of a black and gray sedan, which dragged her body for more than two blocks before it came loose
It’s unclear what progress the NYPD has made in identifying the driver of the second vehicle that hit Underwood and dragged her body two blocks
‘She’s one of us, and she needs help, but she’s not getting it,’ she said in her video before later adding: ‘Nobody’s speaking on Kianna Underwood.’
She said that the cast members acted like a close-knit family while on TV but appeared to not uphold the same behavior when they were off the set.
After learning of Underwood’s death, Bates shared a clip with the news article headline she read and a throwback clip of the late star on the show.
She wrote in her caption: ‘Y’all have no idea how much this one hurts…Sick to my stomach….So many people failed baby girl.’
Those who knew Underwood in Brooklyn have described how she would frequently ask for money.
‘She would come around and ask for a couple of dollars here and there,’ said Andy Sierra, who supervises a store nearby.
‘I used to give a couple of dollars and buy her food. I gave her some clothes and some sneakers last Saturday.’
Speaking of Underwood’s untimely death, Sierra said it was a ‘tragedy.’
Underwood (far right) appeared on the hit Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That alongside stars including Kenan Thompson (middle)
Underwood starred on All That for its tenth and last season in 2004 and 2005. She also dabbled in stage production, touring with the musical Hairspray. She is pictured with Frances Fisher on the opening night of the show in Los Angeles
‘No human being deserves to die like that.’
Another man in the neighborhood, who refused to give his name, told the Daily News that Underwood’s boyfriend informed him of her death.
He said that her boyfriend was cooking breakfast for Underwood when she left in the morning, adding, ‘He was just talking to her and he was begging her to stay inside the house.’
‘I’m very devastated, you know, I see her all the time,’ he added.
‘She always had good spirits, happy, good energy. It was very sad to hear that it was her.’
Underwood got her big break on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series All That for its tenth and last season in 2005, replacing Jamie Lynn Spears.
The show produced several stars, including longtime Saturday Night Live cast member Kenan Thompson and Amanda Bynes.
Underwood also starred in 23 episodes of Little Bill, and appeared in the film The 24 Hour Woman, starring Patti LuPone.
Additionally, she voiced a character in the animated movie Santa Baby! and dabbled in stage production, touring with the musical Hairspray.