Country singer and former American Idol contestant Caleb Kennedy has been sentenced to prison on a DUI charge in connection with a car crash that killed a South Carolina man nearly three years ago.
Kennedy, 20, pleaded guilty to a charge of felony driving under the influence where death results on Monday, according to a representative from the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s office in Spartanburg County, S.C. Kennedy’s plea occurred before the case went to trial.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and a $25,100 fine, but the sentence was reduced to eight years in prison and a $15,100 fine. Kennedy will also face five years of probation and be subject to random drug testing and mental health counseling.
Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Caleb Kennedy on ‘American Idol’
According to the Greenville News, warrants stated that Kennedy was under the influence of marijuana via a vape pen while driving to his girlfriend’s house at the time of the fatal crash, which occurred Feb. 8, 2022. He reportedly drove his Ford pickup into a garage, striking 54-year-old Larry Duane Parris, who was pronounced dead at a hospital three hours later.
“This case shows the dangers of vape pens to society,” solicitor Barry J. Barnette, who prosecuted the case, said in a statement provided to Entertainment Weekly on Thursday.
Kennedy’s attorney, Ryan Beasley, didn’t immediately respond to EW’s request for comment.
Per the Greenville News, Beasley said of his client, “He’s got no record, and he was a minor when this happened. This wasn’t such an egregious act that you see most of the time, where people were drinking and driving then they hit somebody at night or going the wrong way down the road. This was a weird reaction from his prescription medicine and possibly THC.”
Beasley also said, “A very good person (Larry Parris) died, and I feel so bad for the Parris family. Caleb’s very remorseful and his heartfelt sympathies are extended to the Parris family. This sentencing starts the healing process for everybody involved in this situation.”
Christopher Willard/abc Caleb Kennedy on ‘American Idol’
Kennedy rose to fame in 2021, on season 19 of American Idol, where he made it to the final five contestants. But he withdrew from the show due to a social media controversy after a video resurfaced showing him in a hood that many thought resembled a Ku Klux Klan robe.
The singer acknowledged the video in an Instagram post announcing his departure from Idol. “There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way. I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that’s not an excuse,” he wrote. “I wanna say I’m sorry to all my fans and everyone who I have let down. I’ll be taking a little time off social media to better myself, but saying that, I know this has hurt and disappointed a lot of people and made people lose respect for me. I’m so sorry! I pray that I can one day regain your trust in who I am and have your respect! Thank you for supporting me.”
