Jason Hughes he was the type of teacher known for going above and beyond for his students. It was also known that this time of the year was probably one of his favorite, the former student was only told Us Weekly.
“Coach Hughes was always happy this time of year,” he said Sheyden Maynorwho graduated from North Hall High School in Gainesville, Georgia. “He thought it was fun.
“It’s a popular game between teachers and students at this time of year. It’s called senior wars,” Maynor, 22, said of a game called “Rolling Trees,” which involves rolling toilet paper.
He explained to Us that the game is based on a point system: one point for a student if they knock over another student’s house, two points if they knock over a teacher’s or coach’s house and 3 points for the director’s house.
“[It] it can’t be cars or mailboxes, just houses and trees. No eggs, no paintball guns,” he continued, adding that he also participated in the sport during high school.
Hughes, who taught math to freshmen, sophomores, and high school juniors and served as the club’s golf coach, died in a freak accident on Friday, March 6.
A group of five students came outside his house to distribute toilet paper in his house and on the trees in his yard. Hughes, 40, tried to catch the students as they ran to their cars. As Hughes approached the road, he tripped or lost his footing and fell onto the road where one of the cars ran him over.
Five students stopped to help Hughes and now face criminal charges for their role in the deadly prank. However, Hughes’ wife has started a petition, calling for the charges to be dropped, saying what happened was unfortunate.
“It was not a malicious act,” Maynor said, adding that he had reached out to them Laura Hughes – Jason’s wife, who is also a high school teacher – offers her condolences. “It was just a tragic accident.”
Maynor was using Snapchat when he heard the news and was in disbelief when he looked at the news reports.
“We just talked a few weeks ago,” explained Maynor. “We were holding things, his life, my life. He was doing well. I went to a football game in December and saw him. He was on the field, we had a nice conversation. We kept in touch.”
Maynor added: “I’ve never seen him mad.
Last fall, Maynor was in a difficult relationship, her mind focused on a proposal. But this woman ended up breaking his heart while on a hunting trip in another state. Frustrated, Maynor knew who to turn to: Coach Hughes.
“I was bawling my eyes out, not thinking that I had succeeded [the rest of the trip],” he said, “I was very angry. He was busy doing something but he stayed on the phone with me [for] an hour and a half, two hours just talking to me, even though he was busy and helping me with this. He was a very Christian man, and a good servant of the Lord. He told me, ‘God can help you – you have to start praying.’
He even remembered a group message Hughes sent to a group of fellow students, saying he was available if they needed him.
Jason Hughes
North Hall High School“He would make time for anyone — his students and a stranger,” Maynor said. “You have some good teachers and bad teachers, the coach was one of the most touching, he was a kind and world-class man.”
Maynor said he will miss “all the good times we had,” and said he’s grateful to have had the opportunity to know Hughes.
“It will be difficult not to have that rock to lean on when I need someone to talk to or do something with,” he said.
Sheyden’s mother, Carol Lancasterhe told Us that Hughes was “a kind person” and someone her son “could always count on. He loved his students with everything he had and wanted them to succeed. … He certainly left a void in our lives.”
Maynor said he had not heard of any injuries before Hughes’ death but believes the future of the school’s culture may be in jeopardy, given the tragic circumstances: “I think something is going to change.”
