THE family of a teen accused of killing his high school teacher in a botched prank have spoken out after his charges were dropped.
Jayden Wallace, 18, was charged with vehicular homicide after teacher Jason Hughes was fatally struck by a pickup truck on March 6.
Hughes taught maths and helped coach golf, football, and baseball at North Hall High School in Gainesville, about an hour northeast of Atlanta.
Four other teen pranksters also faced a slew of charges.
The group were toilet-papering the teacher’s Gainesville home when he ran out and slipped before being run over.
But a judge approved the dismissal of multiple charges against the group on Friday.
Wallace’s family attorney, Graham McKinnon, told ABC News: “Jayden Wallace and his family first want to thank Laura Hughes for her remarkable compassion and spirit of forgiveness in the face of tremendous loss of her husband, Jason Hughes.”
Laura previously called for the charges against the teens to be dropped.
She said the death of her 40-year-old husband was a “terrible tragedy” but not one that should ruin “the lives of these students.”
McKinnon said: “As he was leaving the home, Jayden never saw Mr Hughes, and Jayden’s vehicle had only travelled a few feet when the accident occurred.
“In the end there was no crime – only an extremely sad and devastating accident.”
Wallace is “still grieving deeply”, McKinnon said.
But, he is “determined to move forward and eventually live a life that would make Jason Hughes proud”.
The tragic accident also landed Wallace with charges of criminal trespassing, littering and reckless driving.
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.
The day before Hughes’s death, the Hall County school system posted a message urging students to refrain from any prom-season pranks.
The school alluded to so-called “junior/senior wars” during prom season.
School bosses also warned of “serious consequences that can arise from engaging in destructive behavior.”
Pranks that ended in disaster could “lead to criminal charges.”
In a previous statement, the family said Hughes “meant the world” to the teen.
Hughes had taken “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”, the told Atlanta NBC-affiliated WXIA-TV.
The group of teenagers had unspooled rolls of toilet paper outside Hughes’s home during a prank that misfired.
Hughes’s family said he knew and loved the five students involved, and have urged authorities to drop all charges against them.
“This is a terrible tragedy, and our family is determined to prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, ruining the lives of these students,” Hughes’s family said in a previous statement.
Hughes is survived by his wife, Laura, and their two young sons.
