Teacher dies after prank ends in tragedy at school in the USA; teenager accused of murder

Flowers adorn a fence in front of North Hall High School in Gainesville, Georgia. AP/Emilie Megnien What began as a prank ended in tragedy, according to United States authorities. A group of teenagers spread toilet paper rolls in front of the house of a high school teacher, who ended up tripping in the street and was run over by a pickup truck as the young people started to leave. Teacher Jason Hughes, 40, died after being taken to a hospital Friday night, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office said. The driver of the truck, 18-year-old Jayden Ryan Wallace, was arrested and charged with vehicular manslaughter, a serious crime. Four other teenagers were charged with minor crimes. Hughes’ family said he knew and liked the five students involved and called on authorities to drop all charges. See the videos that are trending on g1 “This is a terrible tragedy, and our family is determined to prevent another tragedy from happening, destroying the lives of these students,” the family said in a statement sent to the Associated Press on Monday. “This would go against Jason’s lifelong dedication to investing in these children’s futures.” Hughes taught math and helped coach the golf, football and baseball teams at North Hall High School in Gainesville, a city about 55 miles northeast of Atlanta. A neighbor of the teacher, Ty Talley, said the prank was part of a tradition in which students at the school prank teachers during prom season. “There was nothing malicious,” Talley said. “It’s just a joke that students play with teachers and each other. I did it myself when I was young.” The day before Hughes’ death, the county school system posted a notice asking students to avoid pranks during prom period that caused property damage. The statement warned of “serious consequences that may arise from destructive behavior.” Students and co-workers left a makeshift memorial with flowers on a fence in front of the school. The school’s football coach, Sean Pender, said Hughes helped athletes with their studies and was also a man of deep faith who led a weekly Bible study for other coaches. “What made Jason special was the way he did it,” Pender wrote on social media. “He never judged. He never forced anything on anyone. He just knew how to love people. He met everyone where they were, helped them get back on their feet and reminded them that everyone matters.” According to the sheriff’s office, the teens arrived in two vehicles at Hughes’ home around 11:40 pm on Friday and began covering the trees in the backyard with toilet paper. When the young people began to leave, Hughes left the house. As one of the teens was driving the pickup truck to leave the scene, “Hughes tripped and fell into the street and ended up being run over,” the sheriff’s office said. After the accident, the teenagers stopped and tried to provide help until emergency teams arrived. Authorities charged Wallace with first-degree vehicular manslaughter — a crime that carries a sentence of three to 15 years in prison under Georgia law. He also faces charges of reckless driving, a misdemeanor. An Associated Press reporter knocked on the teenager’s door on Monday, but no one answered. The case did not yet appear in online court records, and it is not known whether he already has a lawyer. The other four teens were charged with trespassing and disposing of trash on private property, also minor felonies, the sheriff’s office said. The final decision on whether the youths will be prosecuted — and how — rests with county prosecutor Lee Darragh. “I’m not going to comment on that case at this time,” Darragh told The Associated Press by phone Monday. “I don’t have enough information for that yet.”

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