Heartbreaking news coming from Brooklyn as Kianna Underwood, a former Nickelodeon child star who helped shape early 2000s television , was killed Friday morning in a devastating hit-and-run that unfolded in the Brownsville neighborhood.
Underwood, known for her work on All That and Little Bill, was crossing Pitkin Avenue at Mother Gaston Boulevard in a marked crosswalk around 6:45 a.m. when a black Ford Explorer SUV struck her, according to the New York Police Department. Police say she was then “subsequently struck by a black and gray sedan,” and witnesses described her becoming trapped underneath the vehicle and dragged for approximately two blocks. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Both drivers allegedly fled without stopping.
“There are no arrests, and the investigation remains ongoing by the NYPD Highway District’s Collision Investigation Squad,” police said.
Long before her name was tied to police reports, Underwood was a familiar face to millions of kids. She appeared in seven episodes of Nickelodeon’s All That during the 2004–05 season, bringing energy and timing to a show that launched countless careers. She also voiced Fuchsia Glover on Little Bill, the animated Nick series that ran from 1999 to 2004 and became a staple in many households.
Her career stretched beyond Nickelodeon. Underwood appeared as Tanessha Labelle in the 1999 comedy The 24 Hour Woman, starring Rosie Perez, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, and Patti LuPone, and later worked on the 2001 Rankin/Bass animated holiday film Santa, Baby!
Now, the same Brooklyn streets she walked that morning hold the weight of unanswered questions, as authorities continue searching for the drivers who never stopped.