UPDATE: Portland transportation crews fixed the sign and restored the memorial on Monday morning.

A small memorial on a pedestrian island on Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard constructed in the wake of a Portland teen’s high-profile death on that busy street in 2016, was damaged and a pedestrian crossing sign knocked over Saturday.

Pictures of the damaged pedestrian island on the thoroughfare near 43rd Avenue appeared on Reddit early Saturday morning. Those photos showed flowerpots placed on the mid-block crossing to honor Fallon Smart completely knocked over. One of two large crossing signs – the one facing west – designed to alert drivers of the midblock pedestrian island, was damaged and sat on the ground. A college student from Saudi Arabia was charged with manslaughter and a slew of other charges in the high-profile hit-and-run crash. Smart was a student at Franklin High School.

A reporter’s visit to the crossing early Saturday evening found the crossing sign still splayed across the island, with multiple ribbons tied around the metal pole honoring Smart. The flowerpots had been placed upright, but were in bad shape.

Officer Carlos Ibarra, a police spokesman, said there were no recent reported crashes in the area and he was unaware of the damage. The Portland Tribune reported that a nearby business owner believed a driver struck the sign.

The Bureau of Transportation said it first learned of the damage from the Tribune. Spokesman Dylan Rivera said in an email that the city is taking steps to fix the damage.

Smart’s accused killer, Abdulrahman Noorah, is suspected to have fled the county with assistance from the Saudi government, two weeks before he was to stand trial on manslaughter, felony hit and run and reckless driving charges. The Oregonian/OregonLive has reported on that case and the national trend of Saudi nationals facing criminal charges being escorted out of the country in circumstances that federal law enforcement officials believe are orchestrated by the Saudi government.

President Donald Trump last month signed a bill into law that requires intelligence officials disclose what they know about the Saudi government’s role in helping its citizens escape criminal prosecutions in the United States.

-- Andrew Theen; atheen@oregonian.com; 503-294-4026; @andrewtheen

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