A high school prank went south in Georgia late on Friday, March 6, and now, a teacher is dead and five teens face serious criminal charges.
The Hall County Sheriff’s Office has arrested five students for the roles they played in the death of Jason Hughes, a local high school math teacher.
The five teens, including Jayden Ryan Wallace, 18, went to Hughes’ Gainesville home armed with toilet paper rolls, which were tossed onto the teacher’s home and trees as well as across his lawn.
Hughes interrupted the teens when he emerged from his home, and they all scattered, retreating to two different vehicles.
According to investigators, Hughes was trailing behind the teens and as he made his way towards the street, he tripped and fell in front of the car Wallace was driving.
The car ran over the teacher, leaving him with serious injuries.
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Wallace and the other four teens did stop to try to help Hughes, who was dead by the time first responders pulled up to the scene.
Wallace is being charged with felony first-degree vehicular homicide and reckless driving. He also faces misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and littering on private property.
The other 18-year-olds — identified as Elijah Tate Owens, Aiden Hucks, Ana Katherine Luque, and Ariana Cruz — are also charged with misdemeanor charges of criminal trespass and littering on private property.
All five students were handcuffed at the scene of the crime, the sheriff’s office said.
It was unclear on Sunday, March 8, if any of the students had entered pleas or were represented by legal counsel.
Hughes was a teacher and golf coach at North Hall High School in Gainesville.
“Our hearts are broken,” the school said in a statement.
“Jason Hughes was a loving husband, a devoted father; a passionate teacher, mentor, and coach who was loved and respected by students and colleagues,” the statement continued. “He gave so much to so many in numerous ways. Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife and family. We ask that the media and the public respect their privacy as they grieve.”
11Alive reports that a makeshift memorial to Hughes took shape outside the school, where sophomore Olivia Williams stopped by Saturday, March 7, to lay flowers and pay her respects to the teacher.
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“I think he was connected through a lot of people, and I think it’s taken a toll on a lot of the community because he was very, very big in the community,” said Williams to 11Alive. “He was very social with people and always at events, and he was always just cheering people on, no matter what the event was.”
Williams didn’t have Hughes as a teacher, but recent graduate Shayden Maynor did, and said that they even kept in touch with Hughes after graduation.
“If I ever had any problems, I could always run and call to him, like if I have like financial questions, or if I just had some personal issues going on,” Maynor said, adding Hughes would always be there for his students.
