HALL COUNTY, Ga. — Investigators say a senior prank turned into a tragedy when the students, who went to roll the teachers’ home, struck him. The teacher’s family is now asking for charges against the teens to be dropped.
On the North Hall High School football field Monday, it was quiet and it was solemn as the picture of teacher and coach Jason Hughes was posted on the Jumbotron.
“The kids loved him, the teachers loved him and he was just one of those guys that embodied, loved God, loved people,” family friend Matt Williams told Channel 2’s Candace McCowan.
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The Hall County Sheriff’s office said a group of teens, went to Hughes’ home to roll the trees with toilet paper. Investigators say that Hughes came out of the home, and the teens went to leave, but Hughes tripped and fell into the street.
He was hit by a truck that investigators say was driven by 18-year-old Jayden Wallace, who now faces charges of first-degree vehicular homicide.
“Jason knew they were coming and was trying to go out and catch them. Not in a bad way, almost in a fun-loving way, and then tragedy struck,” said Williams.
The other four students face misdemeanor charges of trespassing and littering.
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Hughes wasn’t just a coach and a teacher, but a mentor, a small group leader for students and teachers. He’s a husband to a fellow math teacher and father of two boys.
Despite the gravity of this loss, his family is asking for grace for the students involved.
“The family is very adamant about making sure that they do everything they can to drop the charges, whatever they can do, that they want to make sure that one tragedy doesn’t turn into another,” said Williams. “Jason wouldn’t want that.
Channel 2 Action News reached out to District Attorney Lee Darragh about the family’s request. He said he “won’t be commenting in the press during the pendency of this case.”
Wallace is out of jail on bond. He is due in court in April.
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