American Idol’s Caleb Kennedy Is Out of Jail after Fatal DUI Crash

(ABC/Eric McCandless) CALEB KENNEDY

Former American Idol Caleb Kennedy was given bond on Friday (May 20) following a fatal DUI crash in February.

The judge gave Kennedy a $50,000 bond and ordered him to have mental health treatment outside of jail while on home detention.

“Very relieved Caleb got a bond. Should have never taken this long,” Caleb’s attorney Ryan Beasley said. “We look forward to proving this was a terrible accident caused by his medication.”

Prior to today, Caleb has appeared before a judge four times in an attempt to be given bond following the crash that killed 54-year-old Larry Parris.

Caleb is charged with DUI in the crash killing Parris on Feb. 8. On Feb. 9 he appeared in his first hearing and was not given bond. Officials say he traveled 175 yards off the road to a garage where Parris was working when he ran him over. Caleb crashed the truck into a garage while the vehicle continued dragging the man. Parris later died from his injuries.

Caleb was denied bond a second time after appearing before a Circuit Court judge on Feb. 24.  Following that bond hearing, a motion was filed requesting his medical record for further details. During the virtual court hearing, new details revealed Kennedy was recently prescribed a higher dose of antidepressant Prozac.

On March 10, Caleb’s attorney requested an emergency hearing where he asked for a judge to set a bond. However, the Circuit Court judge said the conditions set in the previous circuit court hearing had not been met to allow a bond to be set. Caleb appeared at the virtual hearing in a yellow jumpsuit, which indicated he was on suicide watch.

On April 28, Kennedy appeared before a different judge who delayed a decision on his bond. In that hearing, the Spartanburg County Solicitor said the toxicology report revealed Kennedy had 1.5 ng/mL of THC and 66 ng/mL of prescribed Prozac in his system at the time of the crash.

The next day the judge denied bond for Caleb pending a psychiatric evaluation. Judge Grace Gilchrist Knie wrote in her ruling that there is concern that Kennedy presents a danger to both himself and to the community if released.

Every time Kennedy appeared in court, the Parris family asked the judge to deny the bond.

Caleb was disqualified from American Idol after racist video surfaced

Caleb Kennedy made it to the Top 5 on American Idol 19 last year based on the strength of his songwriting ability. But before the Top 5 took to the Idol stage to compete, a video surfaced of Caleb sitting next to a male wearing what looked like a white K-K-K hood. Producers disqualified him immediately, and erased all traces of the country singer from their site, including video performances. An original song he recorded never dropped. But He later recorded and released the song, “Raised on Dirt” on his own.

Despite the setback on Idol, Kennedy was lining up Nashville songwriters who were collaborating with the young singer on his next record. His hometown never stopped believing in him, as fans lined up to attend his first concert after leaving the show.

About mj santilli 34837 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!