Skip to main content

‘Godzilla’ actress Kaylee Hottle dies in car accident at 18

Kaylee Hottle attends the Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures world premiere of ‘Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire’ at TCL Chinese Theatre on March 25, 2024, in Hollywood, California. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

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 early Tuesday morning.

Hottle was the only person in the car who died. A 19-year-old man, who was not identified, was driving the car and sustained non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.

Excessive speed is “believed to be a contributing factor in the collision,” police said.

Hottle was born into an all-deaf family that spans four generations on her father’s side, according to her IMDb.

The actress was best known for her role as Jia in the 2021 movie Godzilla vs. Kong and its 2024 sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

In a March 2024 interview on Good Morning America, Hottle described what her classmates thought of her Godzilla roles.

“They think it’s super cool,” she said. “They’re seeing one of their friends on the big screen, and it’s alongside Kong too.”

Hottle’s father, Joshua, said in a Facebook video Tuesday that he was flying to Maryland after learning of his daughter’s death.

“I am taking a flight that I never would like to take,” he captioned the video, in which he used American Sign Language.

Hottle’s school, Texas School for the Deaf, paid tribute to the 18-year-old on Tuesday.

The school said Hottle was enrolled there as a senior and described her death as a “tremendous loss” in a social media post.

“Our hearts are with Kaylee’s family, friends, classmates, and everyone who knew and loved her during this incredibly difficult time,” the school wrote. “Please keep Kaylee’s loved ones in your thoughts as we mourn this tremendous loss together.”

ABC News has reached out to Hottle’s representative and father for comment.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

New Colorado law expands school zones to 1,000 feet after 13-year-old was killed in crash

By CNN
Click here for updates on this story    LITTLETON, Colorado (KCNC) -- There are new protections to make roads safer around schools and school zones. One law that went into effect on Wednesday is the Liam Stewart School Zone Act, which expands school zones to roads within 1,000 feet of a school. Liam was 13 years old when he was hit and killed by a car while riding his bike to school in Littleton back in 2023.For nearly three years, Liam's father, Josh Stewart, has been advocating for safer streets and changes since his son's death."After Liam's death, we made sure that the school route signs went up, showing kids where the safe ways to get to schools are," Josh told CBS Colorado. "We really are working with our city government, trying to make changes, not just for kids trying to get to school, but for anybody trying to get anywhere."It wasn't until he was driving in the area, that Josh noticed the signage was moved, and the school zone changed at Euclid Middle School, where Liam was biking to when he was hit in a roundabout.In a statement, the city of Littleton said, after research and an evaluation with consultants, in some cases, shortening school zones increases driver awareness and improves overall safety for drivers and students.Josh argues that the changes made the area "considerably less safe.""It felt very much the opposite of a change towards safety," Josh said. "The thing that hit the hardest is realizing that Liam had been killed in a school zone, and the changes to the school zone put his death just outside of the school zone."Josh's priority then became ensuring children have safe avenues to get to school. He began visiting school zones in other districts and communities and learning more about them. He found that, in Colorado, cities, counties, municipalities and Colorado Department of Transportation manage school zones."There were a lot of inconsistencies I found across cities and across counties, and school zones aren't the same anywhere, which creates confusion, and we needed to fix that," Josh said. "This is the first statewide law that actually puts a standard around a school zone for Colorado."Under the new law, school zones are now defined as roads within 1,000 feet of a school. School zones less than 200 feet must update their school zone to be compliant with the law. It also requires signs indicating there's a school zone, with traffic penalties doubled."That right there makes it enforceable. What I learned from police departments is that they have a hard time enforcing double penalties in school zones because most cities don't sign them correctly to be enforceable," said Josh, who added clear signage also gives prosecutors the ability to prosecute negligence in school zones if someone is injured, seriously hurt or killed.Schools with existing zones between 200 and 1,000 feet can keep their current boundaries but must follow the legal process in order to modify them. To reduce the size of a school zone, a public hearing must be held ensuring the community can provide feedback."It still gives a city the opportunity to go less than 1,000 feet, but they have to hold public engagements, and they have to involve the school districts, and they have to involve the people that utilize these areas," Josh said.Cities can also designate a "school street," and reduce the speed limit to as low as 10 mph. Governments can use automated vehicle identification systems to track traffic violations in a school zone. Districts and cities who also want to expand their school zone boundaries can raise funds for new signage.Stewart hopes the changes in law improves driver behavior in and around school zones."What good is a school zone that doesn't start until you can see the school? You really need to know that you're in an area that there's going to be a lot of students well before you get to the school," Josh said. "I think it also puts a reset on the people that are designing these school zones to really think about the people that are using school zones."Josh added that the law also sets a guideline on the changes communities can advocate for, a change he believes Liam would've supported."Liam would have been a sophomore in high school. He would have been driving this year," Josh said. "He cared for kids. He cared for his friends. He cared for others. And I think anything that he thought was going to make sure somebody was safer without asking for it would have been something that he would have wanted to have happen."Josh said the work is just beginning. Next is educating parents, principals and school boards on the changes."I'm happy that school districts and parents will have a legal standing when it comes to a school zone. Right now, if you feel like the school zone your child's school has is too small or unsafe, there's no legal recourse for you to do anything about it," Josh said. "This law gives a standard where now you can hold a city accountable for something that they need to bring up to maintenance."In the full statement from the city of Littleton, it told CBS Colorado, "Following the October 2023 death of Liam Stewart, the City Council established the Safer Streets initiative. As part of this program, city staff conducted a School Zone Safety Evaluation that involved 12 area schools. In that comprehensive third-party evaluation, consultants and staff considered national best practices and guidance as outlined by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), per the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD). The MUTCD establishes national standards and research-backed guidance for the use of traffic control devices on streets, highways, and in school zones across the United States. It was determined that standardizing the distance of all school zones (to include, in some cases, shortening them in closer proximity to school properties) fosters increased driver awareness, thereby improving overall safety for drivers and students. The public can view the School Zone Safety Evaluation in its entirety at LittletonCo.Gov/SaferStreets under the 2024 tab. Since the completion of this study, city staff has been implementing the results."Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
Read Next Story

Related Stories

Latest News
Woman killed in Portage, Indiana, house explosion identified by family as Leona Rice, 86,
15 minutes ago

Woman killed in Portage, Indiana, house explosion identified by family as Leona Rice, 86,

New Colorado law inspired by Megan Trussell's case requires colleges to act within 6 hours when students go missing

Ripon moves to ban feeding feral cats on public property to protect endangered rabbit

18-year-old Orange County man arrested for teenage girlfriend's death

Powerball player in Illinois wins $1 billion jackpot