Teenager charged over teacher’s death speaks out after prank goes wrong
Madison Burgess
Featured Image Credit: Hall County Sheriff's Office
A student who's facing charges for allegedly running over his teacher in a tragic prank gone wrong has broken his silence.
Last Thursday (5 March), a group of five teenagers turned up at the house of North Hall High School math teacher and coach, Jason Hughes, in Gainesville, Georgia, to play a practical joke.
As part of a harmless 'Junior vs Senior' prank war that takes place every year ahead of spring break, the group were trying to cover their teacher's lawn in toilet paper to earn points.
However, things took a horrifying turn when Hughes ran outside to try to catch the pranksters, and the teens fled to their vehicles to get away in time.
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Hughes reportedly slipped over in the rain, falling in front of 18-year-old Jayden Ryan Wallace's pick-up truck, just as he was driving off, meaning the teacher got run over in a freak accident.
The students allegedly got out of the vehicle and tried to administer first aid, but heartbreakingly, it was too late. Hughes was taken to the hospital, where he died of his injuries.
Wallace has since been charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, criminal trespass, and littering on private property.
The other four teens who were with him - Elijah Tate Owens, Aiden Hucks, Ana Katherine Luque, and Ariana Cruz, all 18, were charged with criminal trespass and littering.
Wallace and his family have now both spoken out on the tragedy, expressing their 'deep remorse'.
As reported by MailOnline, in a statement, Wallace’s family said: "We are a family in deep remorse and grieving over such a tremendous loss in our North Hall community. Jason Hughes meant the world to our son, Jayden.
“He took the time to invest in Jay and poured his love into him, making a lasting impact. Along with the rest of our family, Jay expresses his deepest sorrow and sincerest apology to the Hughes family."
While Wallace himself also spoke out, emotionally adding, "I pledge to live out the remainder of my life in a manner that honors the memory of Coach Hughes by exemplifying Christ. He will never be forgotten."
It comes after Hughes' wife, with whom he shares two young sons, broke her silence on the death of her husband and asked for all of the charges against the teens to be dropped.
Laura Hughes, who is also a teacher at North Hall High, clarified that Hughes and the students involved in the tragedy loved one another.
She set the record straight that he wasn't going to confront the students, but instead was excited and waiting to catch them in the act.
The toilet roll prank was thought to be part of the 'prank war' that happens every year between the students.
And because two teachers, Jason and Laura, lived together, students would get double the points for pranking them, and they were said to lose points if they were 'caught,' which may be why they were rushing from the scene when the tragedy occurred.
The widow told The New York Times: "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."
She added that the family fully 'supports getting the charges dropped for all involved.