By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-22 19:14:12 | Updated at 2024-11-23 05:20:41
10 hours ago
American Idol star Caleb Kennedy has been sentenced to jail two years after crashing his pickup truck in South Carolina, killing a married father.
The then 17-year-old country music singer was driving a 2011 Ford pickup northbound on West Murph Road in Spartanburg that careened into a private driveway on February 8 2022.
Larry Duane Parris, 54, was standing just outside his home workshop at around 12:41 p.m. when Kennedy mowed him down, authorities said. The impact drove Parris inside the shop, where he was found by his daughter, Kelsey. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Kennedy, 20, - who withdrew from the reality show in 2021 after a racism scandal, pleaded guilty Monday to driving under the influence resulting in death and was sentenced to 25 years in prison and a $25,100 fine, which was suspended to eight years and $15,100, per WSPA.
Three of those eight years will be served in home detention. He will also receive credit for time served since the crash and his initial arrest.
Kennedy will also have to undergo mental health and substance abuse counseling, as well as five years of probation.
American Idol star Caleb Kennedy has been sentenced to jail two years after crashing his pickup truck in South Carolina, killing a married father
Kennedy made headlines last year after he withdrew from American Idol amid a racism scandal
Larry Duane Parris, 54, who was a married father, was standing just outside his home workshop, where he fixes boats, at around 12:41 p.m. when Kennedy mowed him down, authorities said. The impact drove Parris inside the shop, where he was found by his daughter, Kelsey. He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital
A representative for the 7th Circuit Solicitor’s office in Spartanburg told US Weekly a plea was reached before the case went to trial.
During a hearing after the arrest, toxicology reports revealed Kennedy had THC (the active compound in marijuana) and prescribed Prozac his system at the time of the crash.
Kennedy told deputies after the crash that he had taken a 'deep draw' from a vaping device and then felt its effects while driving.
In a 911 call, Parris' daughter can be heard screaming for help, and Kennedy can be heard on the tape saying he was sorry as he held the dying man inside the shop, the solicitor said.
'Daddy, daddy, please! Daddy, daddy, please!' the daughter screams on the call obtained by Fox Carolina.
Kennedy was hospitalized after the crash and was treated for injuries.
The singer made headlines in 2021 after he withdrew from American Idol amid a racism scandal, as he was seen in a three-second social media clip seated next to a person wearing a white hood, which critics said appeared to be a Ku Klux Klan hood.
'Hey y’all, this is gonna be a bit of a surprise but I am no longer gonna be on American Idol,' he wrote in an Instagram post in May 2021.
Authorities said Kennedy drove his pickup truck into Parris' private driveway in Spartanburg and struck him as the man was standing outside his workshop
Kennedy- pictured in court in February 2022 - pleaded guilty Monday to driving under the influence resulting in death and was sentenced to 25 years in prison and a $25,100 fine, which was suspended to eight years and $15,100, per WSPA
'There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way.'
Kennedy said of the three-second video: 'I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that’s not an excuse.'
The movie has nothing to do with racism or the Ku Klux Klan and Caleb's mother, Anita Guy, insisted the young singer never had a racist bone in his body.
But those explanations cut no ice with online critics who savaged Caleb and claimed he was making 'excuses' and demanded he be disqualified from American Idol.
It was unclear if ABC asked him to withdraw at the time, or if he made the decision himself.
Kennedy apologized for the sequence of events and said he hoped to redeem his reputation moving forward.
'I wanna say sorry to all my fans and everyone who I have let down,' he said.
'I’ll be taking a little time off social media to better myself, but saying that, I know this has hurt and disappointed a lot of people and made people lose respect for me.
'I’m so sorry! I pray that I can one day regain your trust in who I am and have your respect! Thank you for supporting me.'
Kennedy advanced into the Top 5 of American Idol last year, but dropped out after a video circulated of him sitting next to someone wearing what appeared to be a Ku Klux Klan hood
Kennedy's relatives said the Snapchat video in question was taken four years ago when he was 12, the Herald-Journal reported.
His mother Anita Guy told the paper, 'I hate this has happened and how Caleb is being portrayed by people online.
'This video was taken after Caleb had watched the movie The Strangers: Prey at Night and they were imitating those characters.
'It had nothing to do with the Ku Klux Klan, but I know that's how it looks.
'Caleb doesn't have a racist bone in his body. He loves everyone and has friends of all races.'
