Caleb Kennedy American Idol contestant with KKK history charged with felony DUI after fatal crash.
A former American Idol finalist who competed on the show in 2021 and caused outcry after leaked video showing him seemingly endorse the KKK has been arrested after allegedly crashing his truck into a building and killing a man in South Carolina.
Caleb Andrew Kennedy, 17, upon his arrest was charged with felony driving under the influence resulting in death following the crash in Spartanburg at 12.42 p.m. the South Carolina Highway Patrol stated.
‘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,’ Trooper Ridgeway with SC’s highway patrol told People. ‘A person inside the building sustained fatal injury as a result of the collision.’
The 17-year-old teen country music crooner from Roebuck, South Carolina was identified as the alleged driver with authorities continuing to investigate.
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 stated according to WYFF4.
‘I wanna say sorry to all my fans’
Kennedy’s manager and mom, Anita Guy, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
Kennedy’s previous call to fame/notoriety came involved him advancing to the Top 5 on American Idol last season; only to be 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 Klu Klux Klan surfaced online.
After the video surfaced, Kennedy apologized via Instagram, saying that ‘it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way.’
‘Hey y’all, this is gonna be a bit of a surprise but I am no longer gonna be on ‘American Idol,’’ he wrote. ‘There was a video that surfaced on the internet and it displayed actions that were not meant to be taken in that way. I was younger and did not think about the actions, but that’s not an excuse. 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! I pray that I can one day regain your trust in who I am and have your respect! Thank you for supporting me.’
Caleb Kennedy continues to remain in custody.
