Celebrity3 min(s) read
Published 10:26 22 Jul 2026 GMT
Newly obtained emergency dispatch audio via Page Six reveals critical details from the scene of the single-vehicle collision that killed actress Kaylee Hottle in Maryland.
The 18-year-old performer, widely recognized for her role in the blockbuster film Godzilla vs. Kong and its sequel, was traveling as a passenger when the vehicle crashed in Frederick County.
Emergency response records indicate that first responders faced communication challenges upon arriving at the scene. Because the young actress was deaf, personnel immediately sought resources to assist in gathering information and evaluating her condition.
The incident has triggered widespread mourning across both the entertainment community and the Texas School for the Deaf, where Hottle was completing her senior year. Investigators are still working to determine the full sequence of events leading up to the crash.
According to official Frederick County Sheriff, Fire, and EMS audio logs, emergency workers reaching the site quickly noted the need for specialized assistance. The responding crew requested help to find a person who knew sign language or had an interpreter app available on their phone.
One responder explicitly stated, “If anybody has access to the interpreter app on the phones, can you please start this way? Because we need a sign language interpreter.”
The logs further reveal that Hottle was unconscious when emergency personnel arrived. Dispatch records noted that the actress was visiting the area from out of state. The friend accompanying her did not have contact details for Hottle's family, which complicated initial notification efforts.
The dispatch audio provides insight into the force of the impact on Windsor Road in Ijamsville. First responders at the site described heavy front-end damage to the vehicle. The car had traveled approximately 10 feet off the main roadway before coming to rest inside a culvert.
A preliminary statement issued by the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that deputies and rescue personnel responded to the block at approximately 2:52AM Investigators determined that a 1995 Honda Accord, operated by a 19-year-old male from Frederick, veered off the right side of the two-lane road.
Officials believe excessive speed contributed to the incident. The driver survived with injuries described as non-life-threatening, while a second passenger declined medical care at the scene. Hottle was rushed to a nearby trauma center, where she was pronounced dead.
The actress's father, Joshua Hottle, learned of the crash while traveling in Texas and subsequently confirmed the news. In a video posted to Facebook using American Sign Language, he explained that his daughter's heart stopped during transit to the hospital.
Joshua Hottle shared the profound difficulty of the situation, captioning his post with the words, “I am taking a flight that I never would like to take,” as he prepared to travel to Maryland.
The active investigation into the crash remains under the direction of the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office Traffic Unit.
6 min(s) read
4 min(s) read
.webp_ke6C2y?tr=cr-169.8.1505.1344,f-webp,q-70,w-1024)
3 min(s) read
film & tv6 min(s) read
us2 min(s) read
Published 14:24 21 Jul 2026 GMT
celebrity2 min(s) read
celebrity4 min(s) read
us3 min(s) read
Published 11:24 01 Jul 2026 GMT
Published 14:52 21 Jul 2026 GMT
Kaylee Hottle, the deaf actress who played Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong and its sequel Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, has died following a car accident in Maryland.
Her father, Joshua Hottle, confirmed the news to TMZ and in a 23-minute Facebook livestream delivered in American Sign Language.
He said he received a call about a serious car accident on Tuesday morning and was told shortly afterwards that his daughter's heart had stopped on the way to the hospital.
Joshua said he was flying from Texas to Maryland to claim her body.
Details of the accident remain limited.
Kaylee was involved in a car accident in Maryland on Tuesday morning, July 21.
Emergency services responded and she was transported towards a hospital, but her heart stopped en route.
No further details about the circumstances of the crash, including the location, whether other vehicles were involved, or whether anyone else was injured, have been released at the time of writing.
Maryland authorities have not yet issued a public statement.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Kaylee Hottle was an American actress born in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2007.
She came from an all-deaf family spanning four generations of deaf relatives on her father's side. She was fluent in American Sign Language from birth.
She got her start in front of the camera at nine years old, appearing in a public service announcement for the video messaging app Glide, which is widely used within the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
In 2017, she appeared in a commercial for Convo Relay, a video relay service.
In 2018, she featured in a short film called 10 Deaf Children: One Powerful Message, produced by ASL Nook.
It was the Convo commercial that changed everything.
An assistant director from the 2017 film Kong: Skull Island saw it and passed Kaylee's name to casting director Sarah Halley Finn, who was looking for a deaf actress to play the character Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong.
Kaylee was cast when she just was 13 years old.
Kaylee played Jia, a young deaf orphan who is the last surviving member of the Iwi people from Skull Island.
Jia is the only character who can communicate with Kong, doing so through sign language.
She is raised by Dr Ilene Andrews, played by Rebecca Hall, and acts as the emotional heart of the film.
Godzilla vs. Kong was released in 2021 and grossed $470 million worldwide, making it one of the most successful films released during the pandemic era.
Kaylee's performance was widely praised, particularly for bringing a quiet emotional depth to a franchise built around spectacle.
Hall and co-star Alexander Skarsgård both learned American Sign Language so they could communicate with Kaylee on set when they were not filming.
Hall has spoken in multiple interviews about how the experience of working with Kaylee changed the way she approached the role.
Kaylee reprised the role of Jia in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, released in March 2024.
In the sequel, Jia's role is significantly expanded. She discovers a deeper connection to the Hollow Earth and plays a central role in the story's climax.
The film grossed $572.5 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from audiences, though critics were mixed. Kaylee was nominated for the Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor for her work in the film.
At the world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood on March 25, 2024, Kaylee walked the red carpet alongside Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Dan Stevens.
Outside the Godzilla franchise, Kaylee appeared in the NBC reboot of Magnum P.I., playing a character named Joon in a season four episode.
According to IMDb, she had a film in pre-production at the time of her death titled What Doesn't Kill Us. No further details about the project have been released.
Joshua Hottle announced his daughter's death in a 23-minute Facebook livestream conducted entirely in American Sign Language. He was visibly distraught throughout.
He said he had received a call informing him Kaylee had been in a serious car accident.
A second call came shortly after, telling him that her heart had stopped while she was being taken to hospital.
He said he was flying from Texas to Maryland to be with her.
The livestream was shared widely across social media on Tuesday morning and was the first public confirmation of Kaylee's death, before TMZ published its report.
Tributes have begun pouring in from across the entertainment industry and the deaf community.
Kaylee was seen as a trailblazer for deaf representation in mainstream Hollywood, having landed a major franchise role at just 13 years old in a film that was seen by tens of millions of people worldwide.
Her casting in Godzilla vs. Kong was widely celebrated as a rare example of authentic deaf casting in a blockbuster, with a deaf actress playing a deaf character and using real ASL on screen.
Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, the studios behind the Godzilla franchise, have not yet issued a public statement at the time of writing.
Kaylee Hottle had appeared in two of the highest-grossing monster movies ever made.
She had been nominated for a Saturn Award, had a film in pre-production, and came from a family where deafness was not a limitation but a culture, and she brought that to every role she played.
For millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing children who watched Godzilla vs. Kong, Jia was the first time they saw someone like them at the centre of a Hollywood blockbuster.
That representation came from Kaylee.
This is a developing story. VT will continue to update this article as new information becomes available.
A young deaf actress, best known for her starring roles in two Godzilla movies, has died after being involved in a serious car accident.
Kaylee Hottle, who played Jia in the blockbuster movies, was just 19 years old when she died.
Her father, Joshua Hottle, announced the tragic news today in a 23-minute-long live stream on social media, captioned: "I am taking a flight that I never would like to take."
He told TMZ that he learned Kaylee was involved in a serious car accident, and he was called shortly after to be told that her heart stopped on the way to the hospital.
The young actress comes from a multi-generational deaf family and began her career in a commercial for the live video messaging app Glide, which is used by many members of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, when was just nine years old.
Hottle is also credited with an appearance in the Magnum P.I. reboot series, appearing in an episode in season four as a character named Joon.
In Godzilla vs. King Kong, Hottle played Jia, a teenager who communicates with Kong via sign language and lives on Skull Island with Rebecca Hall's character Dr. Ilene Andrews, and she reprised the role in 2024's Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.
Hottle's former school, the Texas School for the Deaf in Austin, Texas, shared a heartfelt statement in the wake of her untimely death.
It said: "It is with profound sadness that we share the heartbreaking news that one of our TSD seniors, Kaylee Hottle, tragically passed away yesterday in a car accident in Frederick, Maryland.
"Our hearts are with Kaylee’s family, friends, classmates, and everyone who knew and loved her during this incredibly difficult time.
"At this time, we have very limited information and ask that everyone respect the privacy of Kaylee’s family and refrain from sharing or speculating about the circumstances surrounding the accident.
"We recognize this loss will have a significant impact on our TSD community.
"Counseling and support services are available for students and staff who may need them, with additional support being provided for Kaylee’s classmates and friends.
"Please keep Kaylee’s loved ones in your thoughts as we mourn this tremendous loss together."
Published 15:32 21 Jul 2026 GMT
Kaylee Hottle, the young deaf actress best known for portraying Jia in two Godzilla blockbusters, has died after being involved in a serious car crash, it was confirmed by her father in a heartbreaking livestream.
The actor’s death was revealed by her father, Joshua Hottle, who shared an emotional 23-minute livestream on social media. The video was captioned: "I am taking a flight that I never would like to take."
Her father, Joshua, who is also deaf, delivered the entire livestream in American Sign Language as he announced his daughter's passing and paid tribute to her life.
Speaking to TMZ, he explained that he was first informed Kaylee had been involved in a serious car accident before receiving another call a short time later telling him that her heart had stopped on the way to the hospital.
Hottle came from a multi-generational deaf family and began acting at just nine years old, landing a commercial for the live video messaging app Glide, which is widely used within the deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
In addition to her film work, she also appeared in the reboot of Magnum P.I., playing a character named Joon in a fourth-season episode.
Hottle was best known for her role as Jia in Godzilla vs. Kong, where she played a young girl who communicates with Kong using sign language while living on Skull Island alongside Rebecca Hall's character, Dr. Ilene Andrews. She later returned to the role in 2024's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Published 10:04 14 Oct 2025 GMT
Newly released 911 dispatch audio has revealed harrowing details from the morning Diane Keaton died at the age of 79.
The Annie Hall and Father of the Bride star passed away on Saturday, October 11, after emergency responders were called to her Los Angeles home.
According to dispatch audio obtained by TMZ, a Los Angeles Fire Department operator can be heard alerting responders: “Rescue 19, person down,” before reading out Keaton’s address.
The LAFD confirmed they were called at 8:08AM, and an ambulance transported a 79-year-old woman to a local hospital. A source later confirmed that the person was Keaton.
Her spokesperson told PEOPLE in a statement: “There are no further details available at this time, and her family has asked for privacy in this moment of great sadness.”
In the hours following the news, tributes poured in from friends, fans, and former co-stars, many of whom praised Keaton’s warmth and remarkable legacy.
Steve Martin, who starred alongside her in the Father of the Bride films, posted a throwback photo and wrote simply: “Loved!” He also quoted one of Keaton’s iconic lines from Annie Hall: “La dee da, la dee da.”
Ed Begley Jr., Keaton’s co-star in Book Club, told US Weekly he was "extremely close to Diane," and "loved her a lot," adding: “It hit me hard when I heard of her passing. She’s with us still [in spirit]. She’s not going anywhere.”
Director and former partner Woody Allen shared a longer tribute via The Free Press: “It’s grammatically incorrect to say ‘most unique,’ but all rules of grammar, and I guess anything else, are suspended when talking about Diane Keaton. Her face and laugh illuminated any space she entered.” He added, “A few days ago, the world was a place that included Diane Keaton. Now it’s a world that does not. Hence, it’s a drearier world.”
A family friend revealed to PEOPLE that the Godfather actress' health had “declined very suddenly” in recent months. Once a familiar sight walking her dog, Reggie, around Brentwood, Keaton had quietly disappeared from public life earlier this year.
“Even longtime friends weren’t fully aware of what was happening,” the friend shared. In her final months, Keaton was reportedly “surrounded only by her closest family,” including her daughter Dexter, 29, and son Duke, 25, both of whom she adopted as a single mother in her 50s.
Earlier this year, Keaton shocked fans by listing her meticulously restored 1920s Sullivan Canyon home for $28.9 million. The house had been a passion project she documented in her book The House That Pinterest Built.
Although her cause of death has not been publicly confirmed, Keaton had previously been open about her health battles - including a long family history of skin cancer.
“It’s a family history,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 2015. “My Auntie Martha had skin cancer so bad they removed her nose. My father had basal skin cancer, and my brother had it.” The late star herself dealt with basal cell carcinoma in her 20s and underwent multiple surgeries for squamous cell carcinoma later in life.
She admitted she hadn’t taken sun protection seriously in her youth: “Back in my 20s I didn’t pay attention much. I didn’t research and didn’t really care, and that was stupid because it’s dogged me my entire adult life.”
Keaton also spoke candidly about her past battle with bulimia. In a 2014 interview with Dr. Oz, she revealed that her eating disorder began after she was told to lose 10 pounds for a Broadway role and spiraled into a dangerous pattern of bingeing and purging.
“Typical dinner was a bucket of chicken, several orders of fries with blue cheese and ketchup, a couple TV dinners, a quart of soda, pounds of candy, a whole cake, and three banana cream pies,” she said. “Somebody mentioned that I seemed to have some mental issues, so I went to an analyst. I would go five days a week.”
In her final Instagram post, Keaton posed with her dog Reggie, writing: “Proof our pets have great taste too! Happy National Pet Day from HG & @diane_keaton.”
Our thoughts continue to be with her loved ones.
Brittany Clark was brutally torn apart by an alligator while she was on a hike in the Little Big Econ State Forest in central Florida.
The attack took place last week, with 911 audio and a chilling medical report revealing more about her gruesome final moments.
She was with her boyfriend, Chance Allison, and an unnamed friend on Sunday (June 28), when the trio decided to have a swim in a river, just after 1:30 PM.
The 31-year-old was violently attacked by an alligator, which tore both her arms off while she was still in the water after a 'death roll.'
911 audio suggested that Chance called emergency services while trying to fight the reptile off, with screaming and crying heard in the background.
Chance explained to the operator that he was 'still trying to get her arms away from the alligator's mouth'.
Not long after, he explained that 'both her arms, both her arms are off,' while the unnamed friend was also heard claiming that one arm was "hanging by a thread."
The dispatcher would ask where the other arm was, and the friend simply said it was 'gone.'
Chance explained that the attack was 'bad, real bad,' as he asked emergency responders if they could 'please hurry.'
He said that she was 'losing a lot of...' before trailing off, though he told the operator that the gator left but his girlfriend was left with 'horrible' injuries.
They then proceeded to drag Brittany out of the water, telling the operator: "We're far off the trail, we're off of a little launch area by the river... We need help now!"
The operator responded: "You may see a helicopter. If you see it, just try and flag it down if you can."
A medical examiner's report also revealed Chance's attempts to save his girlfriend's life, in detail.
The medical report, which was obtained by the Daily Mail, detailed that the trio were swimming in 'shoulder-deep water' in the Econlockhatchee River.
This is when the alligator grabbed Brittany and started a 'death roll,' a technique used by the predators to subdue prey.
It involves them twisting onto their backs before attempting to drag their prey underwater, drowning them.
The report further details: "Her boyfriend Chance grabbed the alligator trying to get it to release her when it took them both underwater."
Chance got the predator to release Brittany's arm 'or a moment,' before it locked its jaw on her other arm.
He tried to drag them to shore, which is when the alligator let go and Chance started to administer CPR on his girlfriend, calling 911.
Brittany died on her way to the hospital, resulting in wildlife officials euthanizing and decapitating the alligator responsible.
The popular hiking route, Barr Street Trailhead, has now been closed for the foreseeable future.
.webp_SmgFsc?tr=cr-292.0.1244.952,f-webp,q-70,w-100)
.webp_ke6C2y?tr=cr-169.8.1505.1344,f-webp,q-70,w-100)