Actor Kaylee Hottle, who appeared in the movie 'Godzilla vs. Kong', has died in a traffic accident. She was 18.
On the 21st (local time), U.S. entertainment outlet Page Six reported that Kaylee Hottle died in a traffic accident that occurred in the early hours of the 22nd in Ijamsville, Maryland.
The accident occurred at about 3 a.m. that day. The Frederick County Sheriff's Office said the 1995 Honda Accord went off the road and struck a culvert. At the time, the vehicle carried a 19-year-old driver and two passengers.
Police said the vehicle veered to the right of the two-lane road before colliding, and speeding is believed to be a major cause of the crash.
The driver was taken to a hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries, and another passenger refused treatment. Kaylee Hottle was rushed to a nearby trauma center but ultimately died. The police said the exact circumstances of the accident is under investigation
TMZ reported that Kaylee's father, Joshua Hottle, was in Texas at the time and learned of the accident. He is deaf and, through sign language, said that he heard his daughter's heart stopped while she was being transported to the hospital and that he is heading to Maryland to pick up his daughter.
He later posted on his social media, expressing his grief with a post saying he had to take a plane he never wanted to take in his life.
Kaylee Hottle was born in Georgia and raised in Austin, Texas, and attended the Texas School for the Deaf. She first entered the entertainment industry at age 9 through a commercial for a video messaging application for the deaf.
She later gained recognition by playing the role of Jia in the 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong. She left a strong impression by portraying a girl on Skull Island who communicates with King Kong in sign language. She also appeared in the sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in the same role.
[Photo] ⓒGettyimages (unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited), film still
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