American Idol's Caleb Kennedy Sentenced to Prison for Fatal DUI Crash

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American Idol alum Caleb Kennedy has been sentenced to 8 years successful situation for killing a antheral successful a DUI crash.

The singer, 20, pleaded blameworthy Nov. 18 to a felony driving nether the power complaint resulting successful the death of Larry Duane Parris, 54, successful South Carolina successful 2022. Kennedy was initially sentenced to 25 years successful situation and ordered to wage a $25,100 good and his condemnation was yet lowered to 8 years and a $15,100 fine, according to tribunal records obtained by E! News.

Kennedy is acceptable to service 3 years of his condemnation connected location detention and received recognition for the clip helium has served since his 2022 arrest. He is to besides beryllium enactment connected probation for 5 years, be intelligence wellness and substance maltreatment counseling and acquisition random cause and intoxicant testing, the records show.

On Nov. 22, Kennedy's ineligible squad said successful a connection to E! News that helium "again wants to explicit his heartfelt sympathies to the Parris family," adding, "Caleb afloat accepts his work for this mishap and hopes for healing for everyone affected by this tragedy.”

Kennedy's lawyer Ryan Beasley said the sentence, besides handed down Nov. 18, was fair.

"He's got nary record," the lawyer told Greenville News, "and helium was a insignificant erstwhile this happened."

Beasley continued, "This wasn't specified an egregious enactment that you spot astir of the time, wherever radical were drinking and driving past they deed idiosyncratic astatine nighttime oregon going the incorrect mode down the road. This was a weird absorption from his medicine medicine and perchance THC."

Spartanburg County authoritative Barry J. Barnette, said the lawsuit "shows the dangers of vape pens to society," according to a connection from the 7th Circuit Solicitor's Office shared with E! News.

In February 2022, Kennedy was driving his 2011 Ford pickup successful South Carolina erstwhile helium drove into the driveway of Parris' location and killed him, and an probe aboriginal showed that Kennedy was nether the power of marijuana, according to a South Carolina Highway Patrol apprehension study posted by the Spartanburg Herald-Journal.

At the time, the outlet Barnette as saying that Kennedy had taken "a heavy hit" from a vape pen portion gathering a friend, past drove his conveyance down a fewer roads into Parris' driveway, wherever the unfortunate was talking connected a phone.

"I spot my daddy laying successful his ain shop, moaning and groaning, with a alien not adjacent calling 911," Parris' daughter, Kelsey Parris, told the justice astatine a tribunal proceeding that month, per The State. "He killed my dad, constituent blank. I privation I could wage a small spot of wealth oregon a batch of wealth to person my daddy back."

Kennedy competed connected play 19 of American Idol successful 2021. He made the apical 5 but left the amusement after a video surfaced online that allegedly showed him adjacent to idiosyncratic successful a achromatic hood reminiscent of those worn by the Ku Klux Klan. (E! News has not verified the authenticity of the video.) 

"Hey y'all, this is gonna beryllium a spot of a surprise, but I americium nary longer gonna beryllium on American Idol," Kennedy aboriginal shared successful a connection connected Instagram. "There was a video that surfaced connected the net and it displayed actions that were not meant to beryllium taken successful that way."

He explained, "I was younger and did not deliberation astir the actions, but that's not an excuse. I wanna accidental atrocious to each my fans and everyone who I person fto down."