Tragic New Details Emerge: 'Godzilla vs. Kong' Actress Kaylee Hottle, 18, Died in Car Crash After Driver of Vehicle 'Struck Culvert'
Kaylee Hottle passed away in a fatal car rash in the early hours of July 21.
July 21 2026, Published 3:09 p.m. ET
Godzilla vs. Kong actress Kaylee Hottle died after the driver of the car she was traveling in "swerved off the road and hit a ditch."
RadarOnline.com can reveal the child star, 18, was one of two passengers involved in the fatal crash on Windsor Road in Ijamsville, Maryland, the Fredrick County Sheriff's Department wrote in a press release.
'Excessive Speed Contributing Factor in Collision'
A police report commented on the speed her driver was traveling at the time of crash.
According to the report, a 19-year-old was operating a 1995 Honda Accord when the vehicle "traveled off the right side of the two-lane roadway and struck a culvert."
"Excessive speed is believed to be a contributing factor in the collision," the statement continued.
The driver was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while the other passenger denied medical assistance.
As for Hottle, she was taken to a local trauma center and later pronounced dead. The crash remains under investigation.
Kaylee Hottle's Father's Heartbreaking Flight From Texas
The father of the young actress traveled from Texas to identify her body.
Kaylee's father Joshua broke the news with followers in a livestream titled, "I am taking a flight that I never would like to take," in which he described in American Sign Language having to travel from Texas to claim his daughter's body.
Joshua said he received a phone call from officials telling him his daughter's heart had stopped on the way to the hospital not long after he learned about the accident.
The talented star, who was deaf, played a young girl who could communicate with Kong using sign language in the 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong and its 2024 sequel, Godzilla vs. Kong: The New Empire.
Inspiration to Castmates
Kaylee, here with 'Godzilla vs Kong: The New Empire' co-stars Fala Chen and Rebecca Hall.
Before her big-screen breakthrough, Kaylee starred in commercials for products used by the deaf and hard of hearing community.
She played Jia in the two Godzilla films and had the script translated into ASL with the help of her parents and another individual.
Speaking to The Daily Moth in 2021, she said: "I was fine with memorizing the script and signing my lines, but the tough part was signing out the 'spoken' parts because we had to change it, and sometimes they’d tell us it was wrong but they didn’t understand that ASL changes almost everything."
"Because the interpreter said what I said. The producer and director would sometimes say 'Don't say that' and want me to follow the script, but the signs for that sentence would be different in ASL," she explained.
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Co-star Alexander Skarsgard branded Kaylee a 'scene stealer.'
"There was one instance where there was a misunderstanding between us related to the ASL translation, which caused a delay, but they later understood."
Kaylee also taught her castmates how to sign: "They had never interacted with a deaf person before. I had to explain how to sign and use facial expressions. That was the hard part, but when they picked up on it, it was fine. I didn’t really have challenges, they were very accommodating. Some of the workers learned how to sign."
Kaylee said her character had a "special" connection with King Kong.
"Because Kong and my character had a special bond. We signed with each other. Not with Godzilla, it was different. Then later we met," she said.
Kaylee's co-star Alexander Skarsgård praised her acting skills at the time, calling her a "scene stealer."
