‘Our hearts are broken’: Teacher mourned after a prank gone wrong

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By Eryn Rogers

HALL COUNTY, Ga — A beloved Hall County teacher is dead and four teens are facing charges after a prank gone wrong.

Channel 2’s Eryn Rogers said the community is now grieving.

The school hosted a memorial for Jason Hughes earlier Saturday afternoon

Students pulled up and placed flowers at a growing memorial outside of the school.

The Hall County sheriff’s Office says around 11:30 p.m. Friday, they got a call to North Gate Drive in the Gates at Green Hill neighborhood.

They say Jayden Wallace, Elijah Owens, Aiden Hucks, Ariana Cruz and Ana Katherine Luque went to toilet-paper the trees at the home of Hughes.

The sheriff’s office says Hughes came out of his home to try to stop them. That’s when the group got into two cars to leave.

They say Wallace was driving a pickup when Hughes tripped and fell into the road. Then Wallace ran over him.

Wallace and the other teens tried to help Hughes, but he died at the hospital shortly after.

Wallace is now being charged with vehicular homicide and reckless driving, as well as littering and criminal trespass.

The other four are also charged with littering and criminal trespass.

Channel 2 Action News reached out to the school, which provided a statement that reads in part: “Our hearts are broken. Jason Hughes was a loving husband, a devoted father; a passionate teacher, mentor, and coach who was loved and respected by students and colleagues. He gave so much to so many in numerous ways.”

Rogers spoke to a former student about how he’s remembering Hughes, one of his favorite teachers.

“Every time he’d walk into a room, It would just light up with his personality,” said Shayden Maynor.

Hughes was his math teacher.

“He was like a mentor, somebody I looked up to. He was more than a teacher to me, more like a friend that I could call if I was ever going through any type of burden,” Maynor said.

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