'Note to God' iPhone App Creator Out of Coma

The young man who created the “Note to God” iPhone app and was critically injured in a hit-and-run more than a week ago is out of a coma, a Mercy San Juan Medical Center spokeswoman confirmed Wednesday.

Allen Wright, 18, remains at the hospital in serious condition and was taken out of the coma Tuesday, hospital spokeswoman Becky Furtado said. She couldn't provide other details concerning his condition.

Meanwhile, the Citrus Heights Police Department is hoping someone comes forward with information about the driver and/or suspect vehicle. With very little physical evidence left at the scene, Lt. Ray Bechler said Wednesday that until a vehicle make and model can be pinned down, the CHPD is relying on the goodwill of someone who knows something.

“If anyone has any kind of knowledge at all, or information they can share with us, we're desperately seeking anybody's help on this,” he said.

Wright is also a police explorer with the CHPD and was described by Bechler as a “member of the family.” He was hit by an unknown vehicle around 12:45 a.m. March 13, while walking home from a friend's house. The crime occurred at Sunrise Boulevard and Arcadia Drive and Wright was found by his cousin in the center median.

Police have collected debris from potential vehicles that may have been involved, Bechler said and are working to enhance video surveillance that may have captured the vehicle. “We're trying to marry that up with a particular vehicle type and make,” he said. “Once we do that we can go in a different direction.”

That said, there wasn't much roadway traffic in the area at the time, Bechler said, but there's a nightclub in the general area. “We think somebody may have heard, seen or have information,” he said. “But we have no one who's stepped forward as of yet.”

Wright, who'd planned on joining the Marines after graduation, created the “Note to God” iPhone app after struggling with some personal issues about a year ago, his good friend Trever Mickelson told Patch. The non-denominational, free app allows users to send a personal prayer, or “note to god,” via their iPhone. The notes are stored anonymously in the company's database and users can read through others' notes to see what they're praying about.

"When you don't have anyone to talk to, you can write a note to god," Wright wrote in his submission.