The Aporia · Driver, 72, arrested in NYC hit-and-run that killed ex-Nickelodeon star Kianna Underwood

Driver, 72, arrested in NYC hit-and-run that killed ex-Nickelodeon star Kianna Underwood

Read the original at New York Post ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Morrison, E. (2026, September 30). Driver, 72, arrested in NYC hit-and-run that killed ex-Nickelodeon star Kianna Underwood. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/us-news/driver-72-arrested-in-nyc-hit-and-run-that-killed-ex-nickelodeon-star-kianna-underwood/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

A 72-year-old man named Michael Griffiths was arrested for leaving the scene of an accident that killed former Nickelodeon star Kianna Underwood in Brooklyn earlier this year. Surveillance footage shows Underwood crossing against the light when Griffiths' SUV struck her, causing her death at the scene. Despite claiming he did nothing wrong and had pulled over to help after hitting something, Griffiths faces charges including leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death. The article highlights that Griffiths’ car was ticketed for 41 violations, with 25 tickets specifically for speeding.

Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

In January, former Nickelodeon star Kianna Underwood was killed in a pedestrian accident in Brooklyn when she crossed against the light at Watkins Street and Pitkin Avenue. A surveillance video showed that a Ford SUV driven by Michael Griffiths, 72, hit her as he swerved into oncoming traffic to pass another car. Despite acknowledging hitting something at the time of the incident, Griffiths insisted he did nothing wrong when interviewed in late January.

Several months after the fatal accident, Griffiths was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident with injury by the NYPD. Underwood was pronounced dead at the intersection of Osborn Street and Pitkin Avenue due to severe trauma from the collision.

Written for “Hit And Run Death NYPD” on 2026-10-30, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

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Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

66/100

New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Who wrote this

Ella Morrison

90 article(s) here · 0 carrying a prediction

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Also by Ella Morrison

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2026-10-30 · New York Post

William Shatner pays heartfelt tribute to fellow ‘Star Trek’ star Patrick Stewart after his death at 86

2026-10-29 · New York Post

Drone footage captures wild moment escaped prison inmate is caught by police: ‘We got him’

2026-10-28 · New York Post

Black bear shreds car to pieces after getting locked inside: ‘Fighting pretty good’

2026-10-28 · New York Post

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 90 articles by Ella Morrison →

Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)

A 72-year-old man who insisted he “did nothing wrong” when he fatally struck former Nickelodeon star Kianna Underwood as she crossed a Brooklyn street at the start of the year has been arrested for the alleged hit-and-run death several months later. asserted

she → insist → death

Michael Griffiths was cuffed Tuesday and charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death and leaving the scene of an accident with injury, the NYPD said. asserted

NYPD → cuff → injury

Surveillance footage obtained by The Post showed Underwood crossing against the light at Watkins Street and Pitkin Avenue when a Ford SUV crossed the double yellow line into the opposite lane to pass a stopped car ahead. asserted

SUV → obtain → car

The SUV hit Underwood in the crosswalk, sending her flying across the intersection. asserted

her → hit → intersection

She was discovered with severe trauma at the intersection of Osborn Street and Pitkin Avenue, and was pronounced dead at the scene, cops and sources said. asserted

cops → discover → scene

Griffiths told the New York Daily News in late January he recalled hitting “something” when his 2021 black Ford Explorer struck Underwood — but insisted he “did nothing wrong.” asserted

he → tell → nothing

I was going to work… asserted

I → go → work

It felt like I hit something, and I pulled over and stopped,” he told the publication. asserted

he → feel → publication

Griffiths told the paper he pulled over after he hit Underwood and “saw another car hit the person and started dragging the person.” asserted

car → tell → person

He said he then got out of the car and, with other bystanders, tried to flag down the second vehicle, which fled the scene. asserted

which → say → scene

Griffiths said he then left to take his medication and “felt like I was going to faint when the incident happened,” he told the Daily News. asserted

he → say → News

The elderly driver told the outlet that police had impounded his car — which had been ticketed for 41 violations, including 25 for speeding, according to records. uncertain

which → tell → records

Underwood, who appeared on the final season of the popular kids’ sketch comedy show “All That” in 2005, had been struggling with homelessness in recent years, becoming a frequent sight on the Brownsville streets where she died. asserted

she → appear → streets

Driver, 72, arrested in NYC hit-and-run that killed ex-Nickelodeon star Kianna Underwood

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Claims (13 extracted, 1 hedged)