‘American Idol’ Alum Sentenced to Prison for Deadly DUI Crash

Former American Idol contestant Caleb Kennedy, who is 17 years old, has been sentenced to prison for his role in a deadly DUI crash that took place in 2022.

Kennedy, a native of South Carolina, was arrested in Spartanburg County and charged with felony driving under the influence in February 2022, according to local CBS affiliate WSPA.

At the time, the news station reported that Kennedy was arrested after crashing his vehicle into a workshop behind a home. A 54-year-old man named Larry Duane Parris was in the building at the time, and he was taken to the hospital, where he died of his injuries. Kennedy was also hospitalized for injuries incurred in the crash.

The Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office subsequently released a toxicology report stating that Kennedy had 1.5 ng/mL of THC and 66 ng/mL of Prozac — the latter of which was prescribed — in his system at the time of the incident.

Kennedy pled guilty to the charges.
On Monday (Nov. 18), he was sentenced to 25 years in prison and a $25,100 fine, which was suspended to eight years and $15,100.
Three years of the eight-year sentence will be served via home detention.
Kennedy will receive credit for the two years and nine months he’s already served, meaning that he’ll spend the next two years and three months incarcerated in prison.
Kennedy will have to complete counseling for substance abuse and mental health issues, as well as five years of probation.

During his time competing on American Idol, Kennedy demonstrated a strong traditionalist country slant. He performed covers of songs by artists like Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton and Jason Aldean.

“The most promising thing about you, Caleb, is that you sound like you,” judge Luke Bryan praised him after one performance.

However, Kennedy’s time on Idol was cut short after video surfaced showing him as a pre-teen, sitting next to someone who was wearing a hood similar to those worn by Ku Klux Klan members. He left the show in 2021 after making it to the Top 5.

At the time, the singer’s mother defended him, saying the video had “nothing to do with the Ku Klux Klan,” despite how it appeared. “Caleb doesn’t have a racist bone in his body,” she added.

Still, in a statement, Kennedy took accountability for the incident. “I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that’s not an excuse,” he said.

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