"A Saudi national accused of fatally running over a 15-year-old Oregon girl may have fled the US on a private jet with his homeland’s help, according to a new report.
Abdulrahman Sameer Noorah, a former student at Portland Community College, was charged in the fatal hit-and-run death of Fallon Smart in 2016 — but vanished two weeks before his June 2017 trial, The Oregonian reported.
That day, a black SUV had driven the then-21-year-old Noorah to a yard two miles away where he broke off his ankle monitor, the paper reported.
Law enforcement officials believe the Saudi government issued Noorah a new passport, probably under a different name, and that he likely fled on a private plane, according to the report published Sunday.
US officials learned only recently from the Saudi government that Noorah landed home 18 months ago. But the Saudis haven’t answered US questions about how he got home or any additional details about him.
“We’re going to do everything we can to get him back,” Eric Wahlstrom, a supervisory deputy US marshal in Oregon, told the paper.
The day of the hit-and-run, Noorah’s gold Lexus illegally swerved around traffic that had stopped for Smart, who was crossing a street, and struck her at 55 to 60 mph, police said.
The high school sophomore, who was just weeks shy of her 16th birthday, died at the scene.
Noorah had 17 parking violations and a suspended license for driving uninsured at the time of his arrest.
Prosecutors still hope to try Noorah for the manslaughter, felony hit-and-run and reckless driving charges in the girl’s death — but the US and Saudi Arabia have no extradition treaty.
The girl’s family lawyer said news that the Saudis may have helped Noorah escape prosecution is “trauma on top of trauma.”
“It begs the question: Why isn’t the Saudi government respecting our justice system?” said Chris Larsen, a lawyer for Smart’s mother, Fawn Lengvenis.
“It’s reprehensible.”
