A 72-year-old man has been arrested in the hit-and-run death of former Nickelodeon actress Kianna Underwood.
Michael Griffiths was taken into custody in Brooklyn on Tuesday and charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident, according to the NYPD. The arrest comes nearly six months after Underwood, 33, was struck and killed on January 16 by a vehicle that fled without stopping or rendering aid.
Emergency responders found Underwood suffering from severe, catastrophic trauma at the collision scene. Despite rapid intervention by medical personnel, she succumbed to her injuries.
Investigators launched an immediate, multi-agency canvass following the crash, reviewing surveillance footage from traffic cameras and local businesses while processing vehicle debris left behind. The search for the offending vehicle and driver prompted urgent public appeals for witnesses to come forward.
Up until this week, no fresh leads had been made public. Formal charges against Griffiths are currently pending as prosecutors prepare the criminal case and review forensic collision reports.
Underwood first rose to prominence as a talented young performer in the early 2000s, charming television audiences with her sharp comedic timing on Season 10 of All That alongside the network’s next generation of sketch comics. She went on to lend her vocal talents to animated productions including Little Bill, earning respect from peers across the television industry.
The news of her sudden passing sent shockwaves through the community of former child stars and fans who grew up watching her work, prompting widespread calls for accountability and justice.
Her father shared his anguish in a now-deleted Facebook post, drawing on a painful memory from a trip to the Catskills with his partner Tia Ynvme Taylor. “So this one time Tia Ynvme Taylor and I were in the Catskills and we saw this fox on the road,” he began.
“I could tell it had been hit. It was a dangerous curved road and I contemplated moving our car into the middle of the road so it wouldn’t get hit again. But before I could do anything someone came around the corner and didnt slow down when I started flashing my highbeams. So the driver ran over the fox, I remember the horror I felt when I saw that,” he wrote.
“Another driver pulled over and picked the fox up who was still alive and put it on the side of the road,” he continued.
“All I can think about is did anyone show my baby that same compassion, as someone ran her over like roadkill. Did anyone try to comfort my baby as she layed dying in the street alone, or did they just stand around with their phones,” he asked at the end of his post.
The collision occurred on a January evening in New York, when Underwood was struck by an SUV whose driver immediately fled. Police were able to track the vehicle through debris left at the scene and surveillance footage, though the investigation stretched across months before Griffiths was identified and apprehended.
Griffiths is expected to face further charges as the prosecution builds its case against him.