Caitlyn Jenner’s longtime friend and former Trump campaign surrogate Sophia Hutchins was killed in an ATV crash near the Malibu home of the “Keeping Up” alum, according to reports.
The 29-year-old was riding the quad on a road near Jenner’s house when she struck the back of a moving car on Wednesday, TMZ reported, citing police and family sources.
The impact of the collision sent Hutchins off the road as she and her vehicle plummeted down a 350-foot ravine.
She was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured in the crash.
Jenner has not addressed Hutchins’ death.
It was unclear where Jenner was at the time of the tragedy.
Jenner and Hutchins, who is also transgender, first met in 2015 shortly after the now-75-year-old announced her own transition.
Hutchins appeared in several episodes of Jenner’s hit “E!” docuseries “I am Cait,” which chronicled Jenner’s life after her transition.
Hutchins was born in Bellevue, Washington, and attended Pepperdine University, where she earned a degree in economics and finance.
During her junior year, Hutchins resigned from her position as the president of the Class of 2018 to complete her gender transition.
Hutchins credited Jenner as motivation for her transition in 2016, saying the Olympic Gold Medalist’s coming-out interview made her realize it was ‘OK’ to transition.
“(Jenner) made it so much more real for (Hutchins,) like normal and successful people do this and people are OK when they do it,” Hutchins said in a research article from the University.
Hutchins decided to move forward with a full transition after the interview.
After graduating from Pepperdine in 2017, Hutchins founded the sunscreen company Lumasol and became Jenner’s manager.
The pair met through a mutual hairstylist and makeup artist and immediately “kicked it off.”
“We got really close as friends,” Hutchins told Juicy Scoop in 2020. “We met through our hairstylist and makeup artist, ironically enough. He was doing my hair one day and he said I’m going to a photoshoot right after this and Caitlyn is going to be there and Caitlyn would like to meet you.
“Went over to the photoshoot, we kicked it off, became good friends and I learned a lot about what was going on in Caitlyn’s life and I just felt it was a financial s—t show — so much money was being thrown everywhere — and nobody was really running the show.
“She didn’t have a manager. Kris wasn’t doing it anymore since they divorced and I felt could do a really good job.”
She served as a surrogate for President Donald Trump’s campaign during the 2024 presidential election, where she made several television appearances in support of the commander in chief.
She posed with Trump during a meeting at Mar-a-Lago in February 2024.
“The energy, passion and commitment for our movement to Save America has never been greater! We will never give up!” Hutchins captioned the post.
Jenner and Hutchins were back at Mar-a-Lago for the election night watch party on Nov. 5, 2024.
“It’s been a wild ride. From the convention & inauguration in 2016, to 2020, to the most insane campaign in US history in 2024, I love this family as if they were my own. I will keep fighting for America in any way I am told- we’ve made it this far and I don’t plan on stopping, only speeding up,” Hutchins wrote. “There is no team of people, led by the man himself, The 47th POTUS @realdonaldtrump I would want to do it with! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
In January, Hutchins shared one of her final public appearances alongside Jenner, where the pair attended the Starlight Ball as part of Trump’s inauguration festivities in Washington, DC.
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