Dispatch call reveals scramble to find sign language interpreter after road crash that killed deaf Godzilla vs Kong child star Kaylee Hottle

Published: 11:20, 22 July 2026 | Updated: 11:29, 22 July 2026 Responders scrambled to find a sign language interpreter as they responded to the crash that killed a deaf Godzilla vs Kong actress. Kaylee Hottle died at the age of 18 in Frederick, Maryland in the US when the driver veered off the road and slammed into a roadside ditch on Tuesday. Dispatchers can be heard in audio revealed by TMZ scrambling to find an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter to inform the child star's family, who are all deaf. The responders said: 'This is a result of a vehicle accident, patient is unconscious. Are we able to check with the city to see if they have anyone that knows sign language. 'She was apparently up here visiting and the friend she is with doesn't have any contact for her family or any information... Does anyone have access to the interpreter?' Ms Hottle was found unconscious, while the driver survived the crash and sustained injuries to his right leg and his rib. The responders ordered an ambulance and an emergency aircraft, which landed on a field near the crash scene.  The actress was rushed to a trauma center, but was sadly pronounced dead. Kaylee Hottle, a deaf actress known for her role as Jia in Godzilla vs Kong (pictured in 2021), was killed aged 18 in a car crash Ms Hottle pictured at the premiere of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in Los Angeles, California Rebecca Hall, who played her adoptive mother, took to Instagram to pay tribute to her daughter with a carousel of photos of the pair (pictured together in the 2024 sequel) Her death was confirmed by her father Joshua on Tuesday in a tearful livestream shared to Facebook, which was in ASL.  Ms Hottle was best known as playing Jia in the 2021 adventure film and also featured in the 2024 sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, for which she gained a nomination for best performance by a younger actor at the Saturn awards. She starred alongside Millie Bobby Brown, who played Madison Russell, the teenage daughter of quasi-governmental scientists. The Stranger Things star led the tributes with a post of Ms Hottle in the hit sci-fi film on her Instagram story, writing: 'I'm so devastated to hear this. You will be deeply missed Kaylee.' Rebecca Hall, who played her adopted mother, also took to Instagram to pay tribute to her on-screen daughter with a carousel of photos of the pair. She wrote: 'Devastated to hear this news. My heart goes out to your family. You will be missed Kaylee.' The actress and their co-star Alexander Skarsgård both learned ASL so they could communicate with Ms Hottle on set.  The teenager previously said in an interview with CherryPicks: 'I think some people see ASL and deafness as a barrier or a gift, but it's just a language, and deaf is just deaf. 'We can do many things, just not hear. We need more deaf actresses and crew in the industry for people to see and normalize it.'