Hughes came outside during the prank, but he tripped and fell and was fatally struck by a vehicle. Jayden Ryan Wallace, Elijah Tate Owens, Aiden Hucks, Ana Katherine Luque, and Ariana Cruz, all 18, were initially charged with criminal trespass and littering on private property. Wallace was charged with vehicular homicide.
Hughes’ brother-in-law, Ben Palmer, said Hughes was aware that the students were coming to prank him and that he was excited to catch them in the act, WAGA reports.
According to Wallace’s lawyer, Graham McKinnon, the charges against the teens were dropped March 13. This was confirmed by the District Attorney’s Office for the Northeastern Judicial Circuit. Hughes’ family had released a statement calling for this, saying they were “determined to prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, ruining the lives of these students,” WMAZ reports.
Wallace’s family released a statement on March 11 that said, “Along with the rest of our family, Jay expresses his deepest sorrow and sincerest apology to the Hughes family: ‘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.’”
According to WMAZ, local politicians and a Change.org petition also called for the district attorney to drop the charges. The petition states, “We respectfully call on the Hall County District Attorney to fully consider the Hughes family’s public request for mercy when determining how to proceed in this case. Justice should include accountability, but it can also include compassion, proportionality, and a commitment to healing rather than compounding loss.”
McKinnon said District Attorney Lee Darragh was “able to act swiftly because the facts and circumstances are not in dispute,” WMAZ reports. McKinnon described the event in more detail, stating that Hughes had slipped on wet pavement because it had been raining, and that “Jayden never operated his truck in a dangerous, improper, or unsafe manner. In the end, there was no crime — only an extremely sad and devastating accident.”
MORE:
