The wife of the high school teacher killed in a horrific prank gone wrong is begging for all charges to be dropped against the students involved — saying her husband loved them and was “excited” to join them in the prank.
Five teenagers were arrested after teacher Jason Hughes, 40, was run over when he slipped and fell outside his home in Gainesville, Georgia, while chasing them for covering his front yard in toilet paper as part of a prank war that had been a school tradition for years.
The father of two wasn’t trying to angrily confront them but “was excited and waiting to catch them in the act,” his wife, Laura, told the New York Times.
The family fully “supports getting the charges dropped for all involved,” the grieving widow said, saying her husband loved the students who face up to 15 years in prison.
“This is a terrible tragedy, and our family is determined to prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, ruining the lives of these students,” Laura, who is also a math teacher at the same high school, continued. “This would be counter to Jason’s lifelong dedication of investing in the lives of these children.”
One of the teenagers, Jayden Wallace, 18, is facing up to 15 years behind bars after police charged him with vehicular homicide in the teacher’s tragic death.
Hughes stepped outside his home around 11:40 p.m. Thursday and walked over to the cars that Wallace and four other teens were getting into to flee the area after they tossed toilet paper over his property, officials said.
The educator tripped and fell into the road, which was slick from rain, and was run over as Wallace drove his pickup truck away.
The horrified teens stopped to check on Hughes and provided first aid until emergency responders arrived and transported him to the hospital, where he died from his injuries.
Wallace’s accused co-pranksters – Elijiah Owens, Aiden Hucks, Ana Katherine Luque and Ariana Cruz, all 18 – were arrested outside Hughes’ home and charged with criminal trespass and littering.
The accident came hours after school officials warned juniors and seniors to end the annual prank war because students had taken things “too far” in previous years.
“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,” the school district said in a statement to the outlet. “He gave so much to so many in numerous ways. Our hearts and prayers go out to his wife and family.”
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