Mike Allen held a sign with Fallon Smart’s name outside of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf tournament at Pumpkin Ridge. Smart was killed in a hit and run in 2016 on Hawthorne Boulevard. The driver, Abdularahmen Sameer Noorah, was arrested and charged with manslaughter. KOIN 6 News found the Saudi consulate paid his $100,000 bail and the U.S. Government believes the Saudi regime helped him escape to that country. June 1, 2022 (KOIN).
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — The U.S. Department of State has introduced a policy named after Fallon Smart, the Portland teen who died following a hit-and-run accident seven years ago.
On August 19, 2016, investigators said Abdulrahman Noorah was driving his Lexus between 55 and 60 mph down Hawthorne Boulevard when he struck Smart, who died after the crash.
According to witnesses, the driver didn’t stop immediately after the hit, but he eventually returned and was arrested by police.
At the time, Noorah was a 20-year-old Saudi Arabian citizen in the U.S. on a school scholarship. Smart was a 15-year-old Franklin High School Student.
Noorah’s public defender argued that he should be released because he wasn’t considered a flight risk, according to previous KOIN 6 News reports.
In September 2016, the consulate of Saudi Arabia posted Noorah’s $100,000 bail before he was placed on house arrest.
But ahead of his scheduled court hearings in June 2017, police said Noorah removed his tracking device. The driver faced charges of first-degree manslaughter, reckless driving, failure to perform the duties of a driver and reckless endangerment.
Federal officials later confirmed that Noorah had fled back to his home country, and he was believed to have received help from the Saudi Arabian government.
In response to this case, the U.S. Department of State announced the new Fallon Smart Policy on Wednesday. The policy aims to place visa restrictions on foreign officials who help foreign nationals evade the U.S. justice system.
“The loss of Fallon to her family and loved ones can never be erased, but this new State Department policy named for this young Portlander killed by a foreign national establishes genuine accountability for any foreign official who assists fugitives fleeing U.S. justice,” Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden said in a statement.