SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Kennedy was charged Tuesday with felony driving under the influence resulting in death after an afternoon crash left a Spartanburg, South Carolina, man dead.
According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, 17-year-old Kennedy was driving a 2011 Ford pickup when he veered onto a private Murph Road driveway and struck a workshop behind the home, WSPA-TV reported.
WCIV was the first news outlet to report on the crash and Kennedy’s arrest.
BREAKING NEWS/Spartanburg: The South Carolina Highway Patrol arrested Caleb Kennedy, who was a former contestant on American Idol. He is charged with Felony DUI. He drove into a building and killed a person inside the building.
— Trooper Bob (@TrooperBob_SC) February 9, 2022
Troopers confirmed to WCBD that the person inside the building was injured and died a short while later at an area hospital. Kennedy was also transported for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
The Spartanburg County Coroner’s Office identified the victim as 54-year-old Larry Duane Parris, WSPA-TV reported.
Kennedy was a Top 5 finalist on Season 19 of “American Idol” before withdrawing in May 2021 after a controversial video surfaced. The video “showed him sitting next to someone wearing what appears to be a Ku Klux Klan hood,” according to The Associated Press.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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