Former American Idol contestant from SC arrested for fatal DUI

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WCBD) – A former American Idol contestant has been arrested in connection to a fatal Tuesday afternoon collision in Spartanburg that left one person dead.

According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, Caleb Kennedy (17) of Roebuck, S.C. was the driver.

SCHP said that Kennedy was driving a 2011 Ford Pickup north on West Murph Road and struck a building. A person inside the building was killed.

Kennedy was charged with felony DUI resulting in death.

Kennedy was a finalist in American Idol in 2021 before leaving the show after a controversial video surfaced, which “showed him sitting next to someone wearing what appears to be a Ku Klux Klan hood,” according to the Associated Press.

Kennedy posted to his Instagram saying that he “was younger and did not think about the actions,” and did not intend for them to be “taken that way.” However, he acknowledged that his age and ignorance were not excuses, and took time away from social media to “better himself.”