American Idol alum Caleb Kennedy has been sentenced to prison after a fatal DUI car crash.

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Caleb, who competed on Season 19 of American Idol, is going to serve some serious time after crashing his car while driving under the influence, which resulted in the death of a 54-year-old man, according to CBS affiliate WSPA in Spartanburg, SC.

Caleb was originally sentenced to 25 years in prison and a $25,100 fine, but his sentence was ultimately reduced to eight years and a $15,000 fine.

Caleb will serve three of those eight years via home detention.

In addition, Caleb must undergo mental health and substance abuse counseling, and he will be on probation for five years following his release from prison.

A plea deal was apparently reached before Caleb's case had to go to trial.

Caleb had been arrested and charged in February 2022 with a felony DUI in South Carolina, and he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence on November 18.

Caleb, now 20, was reportedly driving his pickup truck when it traveled onto a private driveway and hit 54-year-old Larry Parris.

The hit reportedly pushed Larry into a building and he later died from his injuries in a nearby hospital.

Toxicology reports later revealed that Caleb had THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and prescribed Prozac in his system at the time of the crash, according to the CBS affiliate.

Caleb was 17-years-old at the time of the accident, and he was only 16 when he competed on American Idol.

Caleb made the Top 5 on American Idol's nineteenth season, but he left early after an alleged racist video from his past resurfaced online.

The video appeared to show Caleb sitting next to someone 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," Caleb wrote in a May 2021 Instagram post.

"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."

Caleb added at the time, "I wanna say sorry to all my fans and everyone who I have let down."

"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!" he concluded.

American Idol's judging panel -- Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan -- reacted to Caleb's unexpected exit from the reality singing competition shortly afterward.

"Well losing great talent is always [hard]... this is our class. This is the class of 2021. So, you know, it was an unfortunate situation," Lionel, 75, told Entertainment Tonight in May 2021.

"We had to ride with what's happening with ABC, and you know that's where we play. So you know we wish him all the best, but that was just one of those unfortunate things that happen along the way of life."

Luke, 48, also pointed out how all the judges loved "these kids" and aspiring singers.

"We love every aspect of their growth and all of this, but it's certainly devastating news when we hear about this," Luke shared at the time.

"But like we said, our thoughts will be with him as he grows as an artist."

Chayce Beckham ended up winning Season 19 of American Idol, with Willie Spence finishing as the runner-up.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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