Cause of death revealed for 18-year-old ‘Godzilla’ actress Kaylee Hottle, reports say
(Gray News) – Authorities have reportedly released the cause of death for Hollywood actress Kaylee Hottle following a deadly crash earlier this week in Maryland.
According to multiple reports, the Maryland medical examiner determined the 18-year-old died from multiple blunt force injuries, with her death being ruled an accident.
Hottle was a passenger in a 1995 Honda Accord that crashed in Ijamsville early Tuesday morning, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office reported.
FILE — Kaylee Hottle arrived at the premiere of “Godzilla x Kong in 2024 in Los Angeles.(Richard Shotwell | Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
According to the sheriff’s office, the car, driven by a 19-year-old man, went off the right side of a two-lane road and hit a culvert.
Hottle was taken to a trauma center for her injuries, where she later died. The driver was taken to a hospital for non-life-threatening injuries while the other passenger refused medical treatment at the scene.
The sheriff’s office said excessive speed was believed to have been a factor in the crash. However, the collision remains under investigation.
Hottle, who was deaf, starred in the 2021 movie “Godzilla vs. Kong” as Jia, a Skull Island native who could communicate with King Kong using sign language. She reprised the role in the 2024 movie “Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.”
Hottle was also a senior at the Texas School for the Deaf. The school shared the news of her death in an Instagram post.
“Please keep Kaylee’s loved ones in your thoughts as we mourn this tremendous loss together,” the post said.
Her father, Joshua Hottle, also shared the news of her death in American Sign Language during a Facebook livestream. In the video, titled “I am taking a flight that I would never like to take,” he said he was traveling from Texas to recover her body.
An Atlanta native, Hottle was also said to be from a multigenerational deaf family, getting her acting start in commercials.
Copyright 2026 Gray Local Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
