Charges dropped against five students involved in prank gone wrong that left Georgia high school teacher Jason Hughes dead

Charges have been dismissed against the five Georgia teens accused of carrying out an annual prank that left their high school teacher dead in a freak accident, according to a report.

A judge on Friday approved dropping multiple charges against the 18-year-old North Hall County High students who toilet-papered math teacher Jason Hughes Gainesville home, the Hall County Magistrate’s Office told ABC News.

Hughes, 40, slipped outside during the March 6 prank and was fatally run over.
North Hall County High school teacher Jason Hughe died from his injuries after a break-gone-wrong on march 6.Facebook/Jason Hughes
Following the tragic accident, Jayden Wallace was hit with first-degree vehicular homicide for the high school golf coaches death, along with criminal trespassing, littering, and reckless driving offenses

The other teens — Elijiah Owens, Aiden Hucks, Ana Katherine Luque and Ariana Cruz — were arrested outside Hughes’ home and charged with criminal trespassing and littering.

Hughes’ wife, Laura, has previously called for the charges against the teens to be dropped.

“Jayden Wallace and his family first want to thank Laura Hughes for her remarkable compassion and spirit of forgiveness in the face of the tremendous loss of her husband, Jason Hughes,” Wallace’s family attorney Graham McKinnon said in a statement Friday, the outlet reported.

“As he was leaving the home, Jayden never saw Mr. Hughes, and Jayden’s vehicle had only traveled a few feet when the accident occurred … In the end, there was no crime – only an extremely sad and devastating accident,” the lawyer continued.

“Jayden is still grieving deeply but is determined to move forward eventually to live a life that would make Jason Hughes proud.”

Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh said he would also look into dropping the charges against the teens, saying they were charged without his office being contacted.

The tragedy came hours after school officials called on the students to end the annual tradition as students in previous years had taken things “too far.”

Despite the warning, Hughes had been excitedly waiting outside his home to “catch” Wallace and friends “rolling” his property with toilet paper as part of an ongoing “prank war” tradition with the school.
Jayden Wallace, 18, fatally ran over Jason Hughes outside his Gainesville home.Hall County Sheriff’s Office
His home was a clear target for the prank war, given that teachers’ homes were worth two points, according to last year’s rule set, and both he and his spouse were educators at North Hall High School.

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After “catching” the pranksters, the father of two young sons ran after the teens but slipped and fell into the road because of the rainy weather and was run over as Wallace attempted to drive his pick-up truck away.

The five teens gave first aid to the injured teacher before first responders arrived and rushed Hughes to a hospital, where he later died of his injuries.

”This is a terrible tragedy, and our family is determined to prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, ruining the lives of these students,” Hughes’ heartbroken widow previously said.

“This would be counter to Jason’s lifelong dedication of investing in the lives of these children.”