Man, 72, arrested over hit-and-run death of former All That star Kianna Underwood

A 72-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the hit-and-run death of former Nickelodeon child star Kianna Underwood, USA Today reports.

Police arrested Michael Griffiths of Brooklyn on Tuesday, Sept 29, the NYPD confirmed. The same day, a Brooklyn grand jury indicted him on two felony counts of leaving the scene of an incident without reporting, including a count alleging he left the scene of the crash that resulted in Underwood’s death, according to an indictment obtained by USA Today.

Underwood, 33, was killed on Friday, Jan 16, while crossing the intersection of Watkins Street and Pitkin Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn, at about 6:50am, People reports. She was in a marked crosswalk but crossing against the pedestrian signal when a black SUV crossed a double yellow line to pass another vehicle and struck her. A second vehicle, a black-and-gray sedan, then struck her as she lay in the street and dragged her several hundred feet, a police source told the New York Post. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Neither driver stayed.

Days after the crash, Griffiths told the New York Daily News he was driving the SUV and recalled hitting “something”. “I did nothing wrong. I pulled over and stopped,” he said, adding that he left before police arrived to take his medication because he felt faint.

Underwood appeared in the final season of Nickelodeon’s sketch show All That in 2005 and voiced Fuchsia Glover on Little Bill from 1999 to 2004. She also played Little Inez on the first national tour of Hairspray.

The NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad continues to investigate the incident.