In Goodlettsville, Tennessee, a once-aspiring singer known from The Voice has now been thrust into a very different kind of spotlight. Thirty-eight-year-old Kata Huddleston — who appeared on the popular singing competition in 2016 under the stage name Katy Hay — was formally charged in connection with a deadly hit-and-run crash that killed another motorist last December.
The crash series unfolded on the morning of December 10 along Interstate 65 near Long Hollow Pike in Goodlettsville, just outside Nashville. First responders from the Goodlettsville Police Department and the Metro Nashville Police Department were called to investigate after reports of multiple collisions involving a red SUV. Witnesses told officers that the SUV rear-ended a woman’s vehicle and immediately fled the scene. Moments later, that same SUV was seen turning off the interstate and smashing into another car before again speeding away.
The woman struck in the second collision was rushed to TriStar Skyline Medical Center in critical condition. Medical staff fought to save her life, but she died two days later in hospital. Her death transformed the case from a hit-and-run into a vehicular homicide investigation.
Police tracking the fleeing vehicle eventually found a red Kia Soul with heavy front-end damage and a blown front right tire parked in a lot off Rivergate Parkway. Huddleston was at the wheel. Officers say she smelled strongly of alcohol and had what they described in the arrest affidavit as “pinpoint pupils.” There was also an open half-empty alcoholic beverage container inside the car.
Huddleston was taken into custody that day and initially charged with driving under the influence, two counts of leaving the scene of a crash, and possessing an open alcohol container in her vehicle. She posted bail while awaiting her court date.
When the victim died on December 12 from injuries sustained in the collision, authorities amended Huddleston’s charges to include vehicular homicide. Huddleston did not appear in court on December 13 as scheduled, prompting police to list her as a fugitive. Her absence sparked a multi-agency manhunt and alerts asking the public for help locating her.
Six days after she vanished, Huddleston was found and arrested in Oklahoma. She was extradited back to Tennessee and formally charged on January 9, 2026. She remains in custody at the Davidson County Jail in Nashville on a bond set at $162,000, awaiting future court proceedings.
