Former “American Idol” contestant Caleb Kennedy was released from jail Friday on $50,000 bond as he awaits trial for allegedly striking and killing a man with his pickup truck while high on drugs.
A judge ordered Kennedy under house arrest at his South Carolina home, where he was required to receive mental health treatment.
The country artist had been jailed since February, when cops say he ran off the road onto a private driveway and allegedly rammed his truck into Larry Duane Parris’ workshop, killing the 54-year-old.
Kennedy was under the influence of cannabis and Prozac at the time of the deadly Spartanburg County crash, toxicology results showed.
The singer told officials he had taken a “deep draw” off his vape and was feeling the effects of the marijuana while behind the wheel.
He faces 25 years in prison if convicted of felony driving under the influence resulting in death.
Kennedy was a Top 5 contestant on the reality contest but left after a clip of him sitting next to someone that appeared to be dressed as a Ku Klux Klansman surfaced online in 2020.
The “It’ll Catch Up With Me Someday” singer apologized but his mother told reporters the clip was taken when he was 12, and claimed he was imitating characters from the horror flick “The Strangers: Prey at Night.”
With AP wires
