Statement from Transportation Alternatives after Kianna Underwood Killed by Super Speeder in Double Hit-and-Run

The SUV had 25 school zone speeding tickets. Six of those tickets occurred within the span of a year.

The Stop Super Speeders program would require speed limiters in cars that rack up a dangerous number of speeding tickets in a year.

BROOKLYN, NY — On Friday morning in Brownsville, two vehicles hit and killed Kianna Underwood while she was crossing the street at Pitkin Avenue and Mother Gaston Boulevard. Both drivers fled the scene. The SUV had racked up 25 speeding tickets, six of which were within a 365-day span.

Last week, Governor Kathy Hochul released her State of the State policy plan, including a proposal to Stop Super Speeders. This program would require speed limiters in vehicles that rack up a dangerous number of speeding tickets in a year. Speed-limiting devices — similar to breathalyzers installed in the vehicles of drunk drivers — would use GPS technology to compel repeat offenders’ vehicles to travel at the speed limit.

Citywide, pedestrian fatalities dropped by 7% from 2024 to 2025, but they trended the opposite direction in Brooklyn — pedestrian fatalities in Brooklyn saw a 6% increase from 2024 to 2025, and an alarming 41% increase since 2023. Underwood was the third pedestrian in just the first three weeks of 2026 to be killed in Brooklyn, two of which were hit-and-runs.

Statement from Ben Furnas, Executive Director at Transportation Alternatives:

“We’re devastated to hear that yet another New Yorker has been killed by a driver, just for crossing the street. Super speeders are a menace to the people of New York City. If the Stop Super Speeders program were already in effect, it’s possible a life could have been saved here.

“How many New Yorkers have to be killed by repeat reckless drivers before we do something about it? We urge Albany to pass Stop Super Speeders now.”

###

Families for Safe Streets members — crash survivors or loved ones of crash victims — are available for interviews upon request.