The Georgia teen charged with fatally running over a teacher has broken his silence as more details continue to emerge about the normally harmless high school prank that went tragically wrong.
Jayden Wallace, an 18-year-old senior at North Hall County High School has expressed his “deepest sorrow” for the freak accident when math teacher and golf coach Jason Hughes, 40, slipped and fell into the path of Wallace’s truck following a traditional prank outside his Gainesville home March 6.
Police have charged Wallace with first degree vehicular homicide.
“I pledge to live out the remainder of my life in a manner that honors the memory of Coach Hughes by exemplifying Christ,” Wallace said in a statement reported by 11Alive. “He will never be forgotten.”
The teacher was apparently one of Wallace’s favorites, his parents said in a statement:
We are a family in deep remorse and grieving over such a tremendous loss in our North Hall community. Jason Hughes meant the world to our son, Jayden. He took 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.
As Breitbart News reported this week, Hughes’s widow Laura, has asked that the charges be dropped against Wallace and four other teens involved in the “papering” or “rolling” of his property to “prevent a separate tragedy from occurring” by ruining the teens’ lives.
The tragic story has gone viral, with donations continuing to pour in for the family of the father of two boys.
Papering is a common prank that’s been around for decades where teens toss streams of toilet tissue on the lawns and into the trees of homeowners. Often teachers and coaches are targeted, as well as the homes of fellow students.
It’s now been reported that Hughes was not looking for a “confrontation” with the pranksters but suspected they were coming to his house and was patiently waiting to catch them in the act and join in the fun, according to a friend of the family.
It’s also been revealed that the papering is part of traditional “war” at the North Hall high school between juniors and graduating seniors who score points with each prank. The Hughes home had been hit in previous years because it was worth “two points” as both he and his wife were teachers.
The school district was well aware of the tradition and had issued a statement the day before the tragic accident, urging student to “refrain from participating in any activities that may cause harm or destruction to school or personal property.”
Besides the vehicular homicide count, Wallace was also charged with criminal trespass, littering and reckless driving. Four of his companions were also hit with littering and trespassing charges.
The senior could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.
In asking for the charges to be dropped, Hughes’s widow said, “This is a terrible tragedy, and our family is determined to prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, ruining the lives of these students. This would be counter to Jason’s lifelong dedication of investing in the lives of these children.”
Hall County District Attorney Lee Darragh issued a statement to WSB-TV in Atlanta saying he was not consulted before the teens were charged.
He wrote:
I have talked with the family on the phone, and will meet them in person soon. Their request to drop the charges will be given great deference. I was not consulted by law enforcement before these charges were leveled. I will be reviewing the evidence as I should and will be deciding soon.
Hughes has been released on $1,950 bond.
A GoFundMe page has raised nearly $475,000 for the teacher’s family.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of the Los Angeles crime novel Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
