A Georgia prosecutor said Friday that he has dropped the vehicular homicide charge against a teenager who struck a high school teacher with his car during a late-night prank gone wrong.
Hall County Prosecutor Lee Darragh confirmed the dismissal to NBC News.
The family of Jason Hughes, 40, the math teacher at North Hall High School who was killed, had previously said they wanted the charges dropped, The Daily Wire previously reported.
“This is a terrible tragedy, and our family is determined to prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, ruining the lives of these students,” the family said in a statement to The New York Times last week. “This would be counter to Jason’s lifelong dedication of investing in the lives of these children.”
Darragh also dismissed reckless driving, criminal trespass, and littering charges against Jayden Wallace, 18, as well as criminal trespass and littering charges against four other 18-year-olds who were participating in the prank.
The Wallace family attorney said the situation was “an extremely sad and devastating accident,” not a crime, according to NBC News. He also thanked Hughes’ wife for her “remarkable compassion and spirit of forgiveness in the face of the tremendous loss of her husband.”
Hughes, a father of two, died on March 6 after being run over by a teen driver who was there with other students toilet-papering his trees. Hughes slipped near the car because of rain and was accidentally struck by the vehicle, according to NBC News.
The teens stopped immediately and tried to administer first aid, but Hughes died of his injuries.
The prank was a tradition at the school, Hughes’ family told ABC News in a statement. Hughes knew the students were coming and was excited to catch them.
“The family wants to make clear that they knew these kids and they loved them, and these kids loved the Hugheses,” the family said. “This was not a malicious act.”
A GoFundMe for the Hughes family has raised almost $490,000 as of Saturday.
“We are thankful for the outpouring of prayers and support as we grieve the loss of Jason,” the family told ABC. “We ask that you continue to pray for our family and also for the students involved in the accident along with their families. Please join us in extending grace and mercy to them as Christ has done for us.”
