Friend, Teachers Speak Up About Hit-And-Run Victim's Kind Heart, Humor

Like many teenage boys his age, Allen Wright likes hanging with friends, looks up to his older brother and has post-high school graduation plans laid out. But unlike his peers, 18-year-old Allen Wright, a senior at in Fair Oaks, is the victim of a hit-and-run that's left him in a medically-induced coma. His friends, family and teachers hoping and praying for his recovery.

“He's a great kid and always thinking of others,” said Trever Mickelson, a good friend of Wright's who's known him since the two had science class together in eighth grade. On Thursday, Mickelson announced to the school that he's collecting letters for Wright, after overhearing his sister at the hospital say she's making a journal for him. “So he can see how many people are here for him and how many people care and are praying for him,” Mickelson explained.

Wright was left with critical head injuries on the center divider at Sunrise Boulevard and Arcadia Drive early Sunday morning after being hit by a vehicle whose driver failed to stop. Wright was apparently walking home from a friend's house, talking on the phone with a friend and on his way to be picked up somewhere halfway by his cousin, Mickelson said, when the collision happened around 12:45 a.m.

The Citrus Heights Police Department is investigating the crime and in a Wednesday news release asked the public for any information related to the crime; they've yet to release a vehicle description. Wright, a police explorer with the CHPD and creator of the free, non-denominational “Note to God” iPhone app, had plans to join the Marines following graduation. He is known for his humor and good will.

“At first we weren't really friends – he made fun of me a little bit – but that's why we became friends, he was a jokester like me,” Mickelson said Thursday as he overturned the first sealed letter written to his friend. “We've been friends ever since.”

Phuong Tran was Wright's world history teacher. This year, Wright was an assistant in Tran's class. Tran dubbed Wright “Bunny” because the teen called himself  “D-Rabbit” two years ago. “I don't know what he was thinking, but you have to understand him, he's a good-hearted kid, that is for sure,” Tran said. “He had some fantastic idea that he was going to be the next Slim Shady/Eminem as a sophomore.”

Well-liked, easy-going and someone who didn't have any enemies, it's ironic that Wright created the “Note to God” app -- which allows users to anonymously sent a prayer or "note to God" and read those of others -- as he's the one who needs prayers right now, Tran said. “The hard part was keeping it together for my class he was supposed to be in (Monday) and to share the news with my sophomores,” Tran said. “They had seen him every day, they had class with him, so he was part of the class...so it was kind of hard for me to let them know what was going on and the severity of it all.”

Del Campo High Counselor Scott Evans said the school hasn't experienced a student tragedy of this scale since a group of girls were run down by a truck about four years ago, killing one. Still, Wright has a chance of surviving and kids have a remarkable way of holding onto hope, he said.

“They're not willing to let go – it hasn't had the impact of an immediate death because the doctors are still hopeful,” Evans said.

At the same time, the frustration that comes with not knowing where to point the finger is building. “It's like you're angry, but there's no outlet for it,” Evans said.

When asked what they'd like to say to the responsible driver who's yet to turn his or herself into authorities, Wright's friend and teacher spoke of the impact on his family.

“I want him to know how much he has affected Allen's family,” Mickelson said. “Him stopping may not have affected him being in the hospital...but you realize how something so fast can change someone's life.”

The driver may have destroyed a young man's life and left a family without a son and little brother. “You could have possibly destroyed his life and that of his friends and family,” Tran said directing her words at the driver. “You were reckless and I hope that it does weigh on your conscious and that you're aware of whatever the consequences will be. This is going to deeply affect him and this may ruin his chances of going into the military and living a normal life – and there should be consequences for your actions.”

And just as friends and peers are holding onto the hope that Wright recovers – he was able to open his eyes and wiggle his toes a couple days ago according to Mickelson – there's also hope that the driver is caught. “I think most people end up talking at some point,” Evans said in reference to the guilt that must be weighing on the driver's conscious. “That's why it's good people know what happened.”