{"id":23583,"date":"2026-07-23T13:12:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T13:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/deaf-godzilla-vs-kong-actress-kaylee-hottle-dies-at-18-in-car-accident-father-forgives-driver\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T13:12:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T13:12:17","slug":"deaf-godzilla-vs-kong-actress-kaylee-hottle-dies-at-18-in-car-accident-father-forgives-driver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/deaf-godzilla-vs-kong-actress-kaylee-hottle-dies-at-18-in-car-accident-father-forgives-driver\/","title":{"rendered":"Deaf \u2018Godzilla vs Kong\u2019 actress Kaylee Hottle dies at 18 in car accident, father forgives driver"},"content":{"rendered":"
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18-year-old ‘Godzilla’ actress Kaylee Hottle dies in car accident, family & co-stars heartbroken<\/h2>\n

Kaylee Hottle, a deaf actress best known for starring in two ‘Godzilla’ movies, has died after a tragic car accident on Tuesday (21 July) morning.<\/p>\n

She was 18.<\/p>\n

Her grieving father reached out to the involved driver to express his forgiveness.<\/p>\n

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Source: @kaylee_hottle on Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Father of Kaylee Hottle takes flight to bring her body home<\/h3>\n

Hottle, who comes from a multi-generational deaf family, was best known for her role in ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ and ‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’.<\/p>\n

She played ‘Jia’, an orphaned deaf girl who held a special bond with Kong and communicated with him through sign language.<\/p>\n

\"kaylee\n
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Source: IMDb<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Her father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed her death in a Facebook livestream on 21 July.<\/p>\n

“I am taking a flight that I never would like to take,” he wrote in the caption.<\/p>\n

Overcome with emotions, Joshua said that his daughter had died in a car accident, with her heart stopping before she arrived at a hospital.<\/p>\n

\"kaylee\n

Source: Joshua Hottle on Facebook<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

He said the tragedy devastated the family, and that he was on his way to Maryland to bring her body home.<\/p>\n

Car hit roadside ditch with ‘excessive speed’<\/h3>\n
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According to the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, Hottle was one of two passengers in a car driven by her friend, a 19-year-old man.<\/p>\n

At around 2.52am, the car veered off the road and slammed into a roadside ditch. They believe “excessive speed” to be a factor.<\/p>\n

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Source: Texas School for the Deaf on Facebook<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The two other occupants of the car survived without serious injuries.<\/p>\n

“I have forgiven you. Don’t let this incident ruin the rest of your life,” Joshua said to the driver.<\/p>\n

Godzilla co-stars pay tribute to Kaylee Hottle<\/h3>\n

Hottle’s ‘Godzilla’ co-star Millie Bobby Brown, also known for ‘Stranger Things’, paid tribute to her in an Instagram Story.<\/p>\n

“I’m so devastated to hear this. You will be deeply missed, Kaylee,” she wrote.<\/p>\n

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Source: @milliebobbybrown on Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Actress Rebecca Hall, who played the adoptive mother of Hottle’s character in the films, also wrote that the news devastated her.<\/p>\n

“My heart goes out to your family. You will be missed, Kaylee,” she said, posting photos of the two on set.<\/p>\n

\"kaylee\n

Source: @rebeccahall on Instagram<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The Texas School for the Deaf (TSD), which Hottle attended, paid tribute to her.<\/p>\n

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Our hearts are with Kaylee’s family, friends, classmates, and everyone who knew and loved her during this incredibly difficult time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

They urged others to respect the privacy of her family and refrain from speculation.<\/p>\n

Additionally, they offered counselling and support services to students and staff at TSD, especially for Hottle’s classmates and friends.<\/p>\n

Longtime professional Godzilla illustrator Matt Frank subsequently announced a limited sale of ‘Jia and Kong’ prints, with all profits going to the Hottle family.<\/p>\n

The prints sold out in under 14 hours.<\/p>\n

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Source: Matt Frank on Facebook<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Also read: ‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘The Ring’ actress Daveigh Chase dies at 35 after meningitis complications<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

‘Lilo & Stitch’ and ‘The Ring’ actress Daveigh Chase dies at 35 after meningitis complications<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.<\/em><\/p>\n

Featured image adapted from @kaylee_hottle on Instagram and IMDb.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div>\n

Deaf ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ actress Kaylee Hottle dies at 18 in car accident, father forgives driver<\/sub><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

18-year-old ‘Godzilla’ actress Kaylee Hottle dies in car accident, family & co-stars heartbroken Kaylee Hottle, a deaf actress best known for starring in two ‘Godzilla’ movies, has died after a tragic car accident on Tuesday (21 July) morning. She was 18. Her grieving father reached out to the involved driver to express his forgiveness. Source:…<\/p>\n

Read More “Deaf \u2018Godzilla vs Kong\u2019 actress Kaylee Hottle dies at 18 in car accident, father forgives driver”<\/span> »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23583","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23583"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23583\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23583"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23583"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jobuzo.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23583"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}