Caleb Kennedy, a 17-year-old former American Idol candidate, was sentenced to prison for his involvement in a fatal DUI collision in 2022.
According to local CBS station WSPA, Kennedy, a South Carolina native, was arrested in February 2022 in Spartanburg County and charged with felony driving under the influence.
Kennedy was caught when he crashed his car into a workshop behind a house, according to the news station at the time. Larry Duane Parris, 54, was inside the building at the time. He was brought to the hospital, where his injuries caused his death. Kennedy’s injuries from the collision also sent him to the hospital.
Kennedy had 1.5 ng/mL of THC and 66 ng/mL of Prozac, which was administered to him at the time of the incident, according to a toxicology report later made public by the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
- 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.
See Also: Caleb Kennedy Leaves American Idol Following the Release of Controversial Video
Kennedy showed a strong traditionalist country flair when competing on American Idol. He covered songs by singers such as Jason Aldean, Chris Stapleton, and Willie Nelson.
“The most promising thing about you, Caleb, is that you sound like you,” assessAfter one performance, Luke Bryan gave him appreciation.
However, Kennedy’s time on Idol ended shortly after footage of him sitting next to a person wearing a hood resembling those worn by Ku Klux Klan members appeared online. After reaching the Top 5, he departed the competition in 2021.
Although the video seemed to have “nothing to do with the Ku Klux Klan,” the singer’s mother at the time backed him. “Caleb doesn’t have a racist bone in his body,” she stated.
Nevertheless, Kennedy accepted responsibility for the situation in a statement. “I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that’s not an excuse,” he stated.
View American Idol’s Country Stars, Both Then and Now:
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