NYPD finds owner of SUV that stuck former child star Kianna Underwood in fatal Brooklyn hit-run

Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News on Jan 19, 2026

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NEW YORK — The owner of one of the vehicles involved in the fatal Brooklyn hit-and-run of former child actor Kianna Underwood has been located, police sources said Monday.

The owner told police he was getting a lawyer and would not answer any questions, sources said.

Police seized his vehicle, a black 2021 Ford Explorer, and are examining surveillance footage to determine if the owner was driving when Underwood was struck in Brownsville on Friday morning or if someone else was behind the wheel. No charges were immediately filed.

Police are also still looking for the driver of the other vehicle, a sedan, that then struck 33-year-old Underwood, dragging her more than two blocks.

The former Nickelodeon star was crossing at Pitkin Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard in the crosswalk but against the light when she was struck by the SUV driver.

The driver was heading west on Pitkin Avenue and had the green light but veered across the double yellow line to pass another vehicle and wound up striking Underwood, police say. Video obtained by police shows the driver going against traffic and striking Underwood then disappearing from the video frame without slowing down, sources said.

Underwood was struck moments later by the driver of a black-and-gray sedan, with Underwood then dragged for more than two blocks before her lifeless body came loose from the car. That driver also did not stop.

The grisly incident laid bare Underwood’s tragic fall from grace — from a kind and talented young girl who appeared on Nickelodeon’s “All That” to an adult who had fallen on hard times.

The Daily News reported Sunday that fellow “All That” alumnus Angelique Bates in November 2023 said on Instagram that Underwood was homeless and needed help.

“I don’t know what the whole situation is. You don’t know if there’s addiction. You don’t know if there’s mental illness. You don’t know what is at play right now,” she said, adding that fundraising wouldn’t be enough. “There has to be a plan to make sure that they’re getting all the proper assistance.”

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