High school math teacher is killed in freak accident outside his home as five teens’ prank goes horribly wrong
A beloved high school math teacher was killed in a freak accident outside his Georgia home after a group of teens played a prank on him.
Jason Hughes, 40, stepped outside his Gainesville home around 11.40pm on Thursday after he spotted a group of five pranksters draping the trees on his property with toilet paper, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office said.
When the teens saw the North Hall High School teacher, they darted toward two vehicles and tried to speed away.
As they did so, Hughes tripped and fell into the road and was run over by one of the cars driven by Jayden Ryan Wallace, 18.
Wallace and two others stopped and attempted to render aid to Hughes until emergency responders arrived.
The father of two was rushed to Northeast Georgia Medical Center, where he later died.
Wallace was arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, criminal trespass, and littering on private property.
Four others, Elijah Tate Owens, Aiden Hucks, Ana Katherine Luque, and Ariana Cruz, all 18 years old, were arrested and charged with criminal trespass and littering. It is unclear if any of them were students.
Jason Hughes, 40, was fatally run over on Thursday around 11.40pm after he spotted a group of teen pranksters draping toilet paper across his lawn in Gainesville, Georgia
After spotting the teens, Hughes stepped out of his home. He then tripped and fell into the road, where he was hit by a car driven by Jayden Ryan Wallace, 18, police said
Hughes has been remembered as a loving father to his two sons and a cherished husband to his wife Laura.
He has also been described as a great teacher and mentor to students at North Hall, where he taught for the past eight years.
‘If I ever had problems, I could always run and call to him, like if I have the financial questions, or if I just had some personal issues going on,’ Shayden Maynor, one of Hughes’ former students, told 11 Alive.
Maynor, who graduated in 2002 and kept in touch with Hughes over the years, attended a memorial for the late educator on Saturday at North Hall High School.
‘We grieved together, we laughed, we made jokes, and it was just really bad for the community that we had lost somebody so special like that,’ he recalled.
Olivia Williams, a sophomore at the school, said Hughes was always looking out for his students.
‘He always tried to make conversations with students, and he always just tried to be the most supportive he could,’ Williams told Atlanta News First.
‘He would show up to events that he didn’t even know anything about just to be supportive, and that’s going to be a really big thing that’s going to be missed.’
Jason Hughes is pictured with his wife and children
The beloved teacher was remembered by students and staff. He is pictured with his wife
Wallace was arrested at the scene and charged with first-degree vehicular homicide, reckless driving, criminal trespass, and littering on private property
(L-R) Ariana Cruz, Aiden Hucks, Ana Katherine Luque, and Elijah Tate Owens, all 18, were also arrested and charged
Hughes has been remembered as a loving father to his two sons and a cherished husband to his wife Laura (pictured together)
Williams said Hughes’ wife also works at North Hall as a geometry teacher.
‘I really just want her to know that there’s so many people that love and care about them, and they’re not alone in this and that if they ever need a shoulder to cry on, there is always going to be somebody to turn to,’ she told the outlet.
Others took to social media to share their grief following his sudden death.
‘Jason Hughes was as solid a man, leader, father, friend, mentor as one could expect to meet on our short time on this Earth,’ a friend posted on Facebook.
They added: ‘From the first time you met Jason, there wasn’t a question of the caliber of a human being this man was.’
Another shared that Hughes was the kind of person who lit up every room he entered.
‘Some people walk into a room and immediately make it better. Jason was one of those people,’ they shared on Facebook.
‘Always smiling, always ready with a joke, and always making everyone around him feel welcome. He had a way of turning an ordinary moment into something memorable just by being himself.’
‘Jason Hughes was as solid a man, leader, father, friend, mentor as one could expect to meet on our short time on this Earth,’ one friend posted on Facebook after his death
He shares two young sons with his wife, who also teaches at the school
Shayden Maynor, one of Hughes’ former students, said he was an amazing mentor who he kept in touch with over the years
A growing memorial has since been erected outside of the school as students, colleagues and community members left flowers in his honor.
A GoFundMe page has since been set up to help raise funds to support Hughes’ family.
‘Jason’s life was a blessing to so many, and his untimely passing will be indescribably difficult for his wife and two young boys for years to come,’ the page read.
As of Sunday morning, nearly $67,000 had been raised.
The Daily Mail contacted the Hall County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
