After completing filming of the Presley movie, she and her second husband, Gregory Lafayette (born Earl Gregory Nisonger Jr. on January 23, 1938 in New York City) left Hollywood to return to their home in New York. While driving through Wyoming on July 3, 1957, they were involved in an automobile accident on U.S. Route 287 near Rock River. She was killed instantly, aged 24, and her husband died the following day, aged 19. A Passenger in the other car was killed as well. Police said Lafayette swerved to avoid hitting a car that was towing a trailer, and collided with the other vehicle involved in the crash.
Offered an opportunity in Hollywood, Tyler appeared in the film Bop Girl Goes Calypso (1957), then starred opposite Elvis Presley in Jailhouse Rock (1957). She made a guest appearance on Perry Mason as Irene Kilby in "The Case of the Fan Dancer's Horse", which aired on December 28, 1957, nearly six months after her death.
