Charges dropped against Georgia teens whose teacher died during toilet paper prank

The teacher's family had asked for charges to be dropped to prevent the students' lives being ruined.

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The teen driver faced homicide and trespassing charges after Jason Hughes, 40, was inadvertently run over during a toilet paper prank at his home. The four others faced lesser misdemeanour charges.

The teacher's family had asked for the charges to be dropped to "prevent a separate tragedy from occurring, ruining the lives of these students".

A lawyer for the driver thanked the family for their compassion and forgiveness, saying he was determined "to live a life that would make Jason Hughes proud", according to the BBC's US partner, CBS News.

The maths teacher had known the students were going to prank him and emerged from his home hoping to catch them in the act and surprise them as they tossed toilet paper over trees during their senior prank, police said.