Caleb Kennedy has been charged with driving under the influence, which resulted in the death of a man in South Carolina. He was arrested for a felony DUI in Spartanburg County, South Carolina, on Tuesday, 8 February 2022, at 7:21 p.m. at local time.
According to reports from Fox News Digital, the 2011 Ford pickup traveled onto a private drive as it was traveling North on West Murph Road and struck a building, ultimately injuring a person inside the building after the collision. It was said that the crash had been under investigation, and there would be no further updates at that time. The collision resulted in the death of the man Kennedy struck, and his name is Larry Duane Parris, aged 54. According to authorities, he was standing just outside his shop where he was fixing his boat in Spartanburg County. After the crash, Larry's body was found inside his shop, and his daughter screamed for help while Kennedy apologized as he held the dying man inside the shop.
Kennedy's lawyer said that he was in the prescription of marijuana, and it caused a reaction that resulted in a crash. His lawyer stated that Caleb was holding the victim in his arms when police arrived, so he further added that the incident was obviously a terrible accident and that Kennedy was deeply sorry for the accident he caused.
As a result, Caleb Kennedy got charged as an adult and is said to remain jailed when a judge denied any bond for now. His lawyer shared his plan to request a bond at a court hearing later happening this month.
The 17-year-old singer Kennedy appeared to strike the building near a relatively rural area of Northern South Carolina near the Palmetto Hills Golf Club through the address has not been reported exactly. The star's rep has yet to comment on the accident.
Who Is Caleb Kennedy? Career Details
Caleb Kennedy is a country music singer born on 21 October 2004 in Roebuck, a small town in South Carolina. He attended Dorman High School, where he played junior varsity football, which he regarded as his beloved hobby. But he gave up that for his dream of competing on American Idol.
Caleb Kennedy was influenced to make music when his grandmother named Barbara Blanton, and his family members gifted him some cash on his 13th birthday, and with that, he bought his first guitar and was self-taught to play guitar via cellphone. He began to compose music, and his first song was a tribute to Blanton titled, That's My Papa. Caleb had talked about how negatively he was affected by his parent's divorce and that his grandfather was a father figure for him when his mother worked two jobs for ends to meet.
Caleb also shared in his audition clip that writing songs helped him find himself and said how close he was with his mother, Anita, who acted as his manager, booking all his gigs. He said that he loved him very much, and she had believed in him ever since he started this journey.
Caleb Kennedy auditioned for American Idol season 19 in 2021 and became a favorite of all as he impressed everyone with his original song Nowhere in his audition. He was given three yes in his audition and was categorized in the Country genre challenge. He was advancing throughout the show and also sang his original song When You Leave Tonight, and during the Final judgment, he was even told that he was enough to be a Top 24 semifinalist.
He survived Top 12 and Top 10 singing On the Road Again by Willie Nelson and Real Gone by Sheryl Crow and was even safe in Top 7 where he sang Violet Hill by Coldplay and an original song called Mama Said. But he withdrew after a three-second controversial video of him surfaced online. The video was a Snapchat post, and he was seen sitting beside someone wearing what seemed to be a Ku Klux Klan hood.
Kennedy announced his departure from American Idol on 21 May 2021 via Instagram, where he posted a note that said, "Hey y'all, this is gonna be a bit of surprise, but I am no longer gonna be on 'American Idol.' 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."
He apologized to all of his fans and everyone whom he let down and added that he would be taking his time off from social media to better himself. He concluded by writing, "I pray that I can one day regain your trust in who I am and have your respect! Thank you for supporting me."
His mother also shared that Caleb was 12 years old at the time, and the video never intended the way it was portrayed; instead, he was imitating the characters from The Strangers: Prey at Night after watching that movie. She pointed out that her son, Caleb, didn't have a racist bone in his body, adding that he was friends with all ethnicities.
Caleb Kennedy later talked about his experience on the reality show admitting how he was scared of someone capturing him on camera whenever he was out and said that he was not ready for the show emotionally. He added that he had no regrets despite the challenges because he loved to be there and said that he continued to write music, gathering all his experiences from the show.
Caleb Kennedy has around 89.7k followers on his Instagram account, where he shares his music clips and related stuff and announcements.
Is Caleb Kennedy Dating Anyone?
As he rose to fame after appearing on American Idol, the 17-year-old singer and songwriter have kept quiet about his love life, and he seems to be on a more private side when it comes to his personal life. He is in his late adolescence to be married, and he seems to be single too. He is currently studying and focusing on his music career.
He has posted a picture with a girl on 10 October 2021 with the caption " My forever girl."