Family of Georgia teacher who died in student prank wants charges dropped

The family of a Georgia teacher who died after falling into the road during a student prank gone wrong wants the charges against the students dropped.

Jason Hughes, 40, went outside after teenagers pranked his home with toilet paper Friday, only to slip and fall into the road.

One of the teens, who was driving to get away, is accused of hitting Mr. Hughes with the car. The teacher died at the hospital, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office said, according to The Associated Press.

The family of Mr. Hughes told Atlanta’s WXIA-TV that Mr. Hughes “knew the students were coming and he was excited and waiting to ’catch them’ in the act. It had been raining and he accidentally slipped and fell into the road in front of the vehicle as they were driving away and was hit. The students immediately tried to provide aid until paramedics arrived.”

Mr. Hughes, who was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital following the incident, was a teacher at North Hall High School in Gainesville, Georgia, about 50 miles northeast of Atlanta. His wife, Laura Hughes, also teaches at the school, according to Atlanta’s WANF.

All of the students involved are Gainesville residents and students at North Hall.

The accused driver, Jayden Ryan Wallace, 18, faces charges of first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, criminal trespass and littering on private property. Four other 18-year-olds, Aiden Hucks, Ana Luque, Ariana Cruz and Elijiah Owens, face misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and littering on private property, according to Atlanta’s WUPA-TV.

The victim’s family told WXIA that “Jason loved these students and they loved him too. Our family fully supports getting the charges dropped for all involved. This is a terrible tragedy, and our family is determined to prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, ruining the lives of these students. This would be counter to Jason’s lifelong dedication of investing in the lives of these children.”

One of the victim’s neighbors, Ty Talley, told AP that the prank was part of a seasonal prom tradition and that “it was nothing malicious. It was just a prank that kids play on their teachers and each other. I did it as a kid.”

A day before the incident, the Hall County school system put out a memo warning students that the pranking traditions had gone too far.

Hall County School District Director of Communications Stan Lewis told WANF that “if we’ve learned anything from this tragic incident it’s that life is very fragile and it can turn on a dime. You know, these kids meant no harm. They meant no harm. They’re good kids. They’re really good kids. It was a bizarre, unfortunate accident.”