‘American Idol’ alum Caleb Kennedy sentenced to 8 years in prison for fatal DUI crash
Former Top 5 “American Idol” contestant, Caleb Kennedy, will spend time in prison for his role in a fatal wreck in 2022.
According to the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s Office in South Carolina, a 20-year-old Kennedy pled guilty Monday to a felony charge of driving under the influence resulting in the death of a victim.
On Feb. 8, 2022, Kennedy drove his Ford F-150 truck into a home on West Murph Road in Pacolet (located 70 miles southwest from Charlotte), hitting and killing 54-year-old Larry Duane Parris. Kennedy, who was 17 at the time, was arrested the same day on the DUI charge.
This week, Kennedy was sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined $25,100, but his sentence and fine were lowered to eight years in prison, and he must pay $15,100. He also will serve five years of probation and must attend mental health and substance abuse counseling.
Three of the eight-year sentence will be on home detention. He also received credit for the nearly three years he has served.
‘Prescription medicine and possibly THC’ contributed to crash, lawyer says
Kennedy’s attorney, Ryan Beasley, said the sentencing was fair despite the victim’s family wanting the maximum 25-year sentence.
“He’s got no record, and he was a minor when this happened,” Beasley said. “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.”
According to warrants, Kennedy was driving under the influence of marijuana after hitting a vape pen. He went down Southport Road heading to his girlfriend’s house in Union when he detoured about 175 yards down Murph Road and into Parris’ driveway, where Parris was talking on a phone.
“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,” Beasley said.
Why did Caleb Kennedy leave ‘American Idol?’
At just 16, Kennedy performed for viewers across the nation while competing on “Idol” in 2021.
However, he left the music competition show after a controversial social media post resurfaced online. He was seen in a Snapchat post seated beside someone wearing what appeared to be a Ku Klux Klan hood, but Kennedy’s family said the video was recorded when he was 12 years old.
Kennedey’s mother said he had watched the movie “The Strangers: Prey at Night” before the video was recorded, and his friends were portraying the onscreen characters.
After “Idol,” Kennedy performed at local venues and concerts around the state.
“Now that I’m home, I try to be me, but I’m also scared of someone videoing me when I go to Academy or Walmart. You have to worry about things like that now,” Kennedy told the Spartanburg Herald-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network, in 2021.
Kennedy also admitted that he underestimated the pressures of performing on a popular show like “Idol.”
“You think it’s all going to be fun, and a lot of it is, but it will slap you in the face really quickly. I wasn’t ready for it,” he said. “There’s no way to emotionally prepare for ‘Idol.’ Because no one is ready for it, no matter how you prepare.”
Contributing: Ashley Dill, USA TODAY Network
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: ‘American Idol’ alum Caleb Kennedy gets prison time for fatal DUI