'American Idol' Alum Caleb Kennedy Charged for Drunk-Driving Crash Resulting in 1 Death
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The 17-year-old former finalist of the singing competition's season 19 is arrested and charged with felony driving under the influence after crashing his truck into a building and killing a man.

AceShowbiz - Caleb Kennedy, a former contestant on "American Idol", has been involved in a fatal car crash. The 17-year-old singing hopeful has been arrested after allegedly causing the accident that resulted in one death.

The accident happened on Tuesday, February 8 at approximately 12:41 P.M. on a private road in Spartanburg County, South California. Kennedy allegedly crashed his truck into a building while drunk, killing a man inside the building.

"A 2011 Ford pickup was traveling north on W. Murph Road when the vehicle traveled onto a private drive at 269 W. Murph Road and struck a building," South Carolina Highway Patrol master trooper Mitchell Ridgeway confirms. "A person inside the building sustained fatal injury as a result of the collision."

"The driver is identified as Caleb Andrew Kennedy, 17-year-old male from Roebuck, South Carolina," Trooper Ridgeway continues. "This crash remains under investigation by the South Carolina Highway Patrol. There will be no further updates at this time."

The man inside the building, Larry Duane Parris, 54, was pronounced dead at the hospital three hours after the crash, the Spartanburg County Coroners Office confirmed to local station WYFF4. According to Ridgeway, the driver of the vehicle was taken to Spartanburg Medical Center, but the extent of his injury is currently unknown.

Kennedy is charged with felony driving under the influence following the accident. The country musician remains behind bars, according to PEOPLE. Reps for the singer have not commented on the accident.

Caleb Kennedy's Mug Shot

'American Idol' alum Caleb Kennedy arrested after allegedly causing a fatal crash.

Kennedy competed in season 19 of "American Idol" which aired in 2021. He made it to the Top 5, but he abruptly exited the competition after a video surfaced showing him standing next to someone who appears to be wearing 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 addressed his exit on Instagram at the time.

"There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way," he said of the video. "I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that's not an excuse."

He continued, "I wanna say sorry to all my fans and everyone who I have let down. 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!"

"On Idol, that wasn't me. That world is so different," the teen said. "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 Wal-Mart. You have to worry about things like that now."

He concluded his statement by saying that he will "pray that one day" he will regain the public's trust and thanked viewers for their support.

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