“American Idol” Alum Caleb Kennedy's 25-Year DUI Sentence Reduced to 8 After Killing South Carolina Father: Reports
Kennedy, who made it to the Top 5 of season 19 before he was removed from the show, struck and killed a man in February 2022
spartanburg sheriff's department
Caleb Kennedy's mugshotFormer American Idol contestant Caleb Kennedy has reportedly been sentenced on a felony DUI charge, nearly three years after he struck and killed a South Carolina father.
Kennedy’s case was scheduled to go to trial, but he pleaded guilty on Monday, Nov. 18 to a felony driving under the influence charge resulting in death, according to The Greenville News and and FOX Carolina.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison and fined $25,100, though his sentence was reduced to eight years in prison, and his fine to $15,100, the outlets reported. Kennedy, 20, must also serve five years of probation and attend mental health and substance abuse counseling.
Kennedy’s attorney did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment, nor did local authorities.
The singer was 17 when his Ford pickup truck traveled 175 yards off the road and struck a garage in which 54-year-old Larry Duane Parris was working in Spartanburg, S.C. Parris was reportedly pronounced dead at the hospital three hours after the 12:30 p.m. crash.
FOX Carolina reported that Kennedy’s defense said his dose of Prozac had been increased shortly before the crash, and The Greenville News reported he was driving under the influence of marijuana after using a vape pen, citing warrants. The warrants reportedly said Kennedy was on his way to his girlfriend’s house at the time of the accident, and that Parris was talking on a phone.
"A very good person 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," Kennedy’s attorney Ryan Beasley said in a statement to The Greenville News. “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.”
In another statement to FOX Carolina, Beasley said that Kennedy “wants to express his heartfelt sympathies to the Parris family,” and that he “accepts his responsibility for this accident and hopes for healing for everyone affected by this tragedy.”
Parris was the founder of the Parris Construction Company and was a member of New Beginnings Church, according to his obituary.
Weeks after the crash, family including his wife Donna and daughter Kelsi gave an emotional plea during a virtual court hearing for Kennedy, asking the judge to deny him bond.
"I see my daddy laying in his own shop, moaning and groaning, with a stranger not even calling 911," Kelsi said, according to The State. "He killed my dad, point-blank. I wish I could pay a little bit of money or a lot of money to have my daddy back."
Kennedy competed on season 19 of American Idol in 2021, and made it to the Top 5. He was booted from the show after a controversial video of him hanging out with a friend who was wearing a hood similar to the ones worn by the Ku Klux Klan surfaced online.
He later apologized, saying the video “displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way.”
Three years of his sentence will be on home detention, according to The Greenville News. He will also receive credit for the nearly three years he has already served, which means he will likely serve about a year behind bars.
