This is so tragic.
Actress Kaylee Hottle, who is best known for her role in two ‘Godzilla’ films, is dead.
The young actress passed away on Tuesday after a car crash in Maryland.
She was only 18 years old.
Kaylee Hottle, the child actress known for playing Jia in 'Godzilla', has died in a car crash in Maryland, her father says. She was 18 years old – TMZ pic.twitter.com/TSO3vWqxto
— BNO News (@BNONews) July 21, 2026
ABC News dove into the devastating details of the crash in this clip:
Actress Kaylee Hottle, known for her starring role in two “Godzilla” movies, died Tuesday in a car accident in Maryland at the age of 18, according to police.
The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to ABC News that Hottle was one of two passengers in a car involved in a fatal single-vehicle collision and was the only person who died.
Excessive speed is “believed to be a contributing factor in the collision,” police said.
Kaylee Hottle was a prominent deaf actress.
During her life, she sought to bring representation from the deaf community to Hollywood.
Kaylee’s father Joshua first shared the sad news of her untimely passing with TMZ:
Joshua says he learned Kaylee was involved in a serious car accident … and officials called him shortly after this initial shock to inform him her heart stopped on the way to the hospital. ADVERTISEMENTKaylee — an Atlanta, Georgia native — comes from a multi-generational deaf family. She got her start in commercials … notably a PSA for the live video messaging app Glide, which is used by many members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, when she was just 9 years old. In 2021, Kaylee played Jia in “Godzilla vs. Kong” … a teenager who communicates with King Kong via sign language and lives on Skull Island with Rebecca Hall’s character Dr. Ilene Andrews. She reprised the role in the 2024 movie “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.”
Dispatch audio revealed more details about the fatal crash that took Kaylee Hottle’s life.
Page Six reported:
According to Frederick County Sheriff, Fire and EMS dispatch audio obtained by Page Six, first responders arriving at the scene in the early morning hours of July 21 requested assistance locating someone who knew sign language or had access to an interpreter app to communicate with the deaf “Godzilla vs. Kong” star.
Dispatch audio also indicates that Kaylee was “unconscious” when emergency personnel responded to the crash as they worked to assess those involved.
One dispatcher noted that Kaylee was visiting the area and that the friend she was with did not have contact information for her family.
At another point in the audio, officials said, “If anybody has access to the interpreter app on the phones, can you please start this way? Because we need a sign language interpreter.”
ADVERTISEMENTThe audio also shed light on the severity of the collision, with first responders describing “heavy front-end damage” and noting that the vehicle had traveled roughly 10 feet off the roadway and into a culvert.
Emergency personnel additionally requested medics return to evaluate a second individual at the scene who was complaining of rib pain.
Dispatchers later said they had spoken with the actress’s father, Joshua Hottle, by phone.
Rest in peace.
Prayers for Kaylee’s family and loved ones.
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