Should teens be charged after school prank gone wrong? What we know
USA TODAY
Five teenagers face charges after teacher Jason Hughes' death, but his family says they should be dropped. Here's what we know.
Questions about the fate of several teenagers are swirling in a Georgia community. Their prank was juvenile, yet textbook. The ending – the death of a beloved teacher – was not.
Five 18-year-olds face criminal charges in the death of their high school teacher, who was killed on March 6 when one of the teens ran over him with a truck, authorities said. The teens had been toilet-papering Jason Hughes' home in Gainesville, Georgia, when the prank took a turn for the worse.
Police said the driver of the pickup truck, Jayden Ryan Wallace, was charged with first-degree vehicular homicide and all the teens also face lesser charges. But Hughes' family disagrees with all the charges, and said the students' lives shouldn't be ruined over the incident.
"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," said Wallace in his first public statement along with his family shared with ABC News.
The Hall County prosecutor, Lee Darragh, told USA TODAY on March 10 the charges were were made against the teens without his office's input and he would be reviewing the case and speaking with Hughes' family. Darragh didn't immediately respond to a request for more information on March 12.
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