Uber and driver ordered to pay $40M after woman left on the 73 was struck and killed

Uber and one of its former drivers have been ordered to pay $40 million to the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old who was struck and killed on State Route 73 in Orange County after her ride ended on the side of the freeway.

Retired Judge Richard Stone, who heard the case in arbitration, awarded her mother, Carol Normandin, and her father, Ken Parker, $20 million each. He found Uber and driver Vu Tran jointly and severally liable. Her friend Luna Moore, who was also in the car, was awarded $300,000. No punitive damages were awarded.

The decision is dated July. It became public in mid-September, when the family's attorneys released it.

What happened on the 73

On Aug. 12, 2023, Tran picked up Normandin-Parker and Moore from a bar to take them home. Moore became sick during the ride. Tran pulled over at a gore point, the triangle of pavement where an off-ramp splits from the freeway, where SR-73 meets MacArthur Boulevard in Newport Beach.

According to the arbitration findings, Tran knew both women were intoxicated. He argued with Moore over a cleaning fee and left them there. Stone called the stop "unsafe and illegal" and found Tran could have used the nearby MacArthur exit to stop somewhere safe.

Normandin-Parker later entered the freeway and was struck and killed by a vehicle. According to the award, GPS data showed Tran's car passed close to where her body was found before he took the next exit and called Uber about the cleaning fee.

What the arbitrator decided

Stone rejected Uber's argument that it is just a technology platform connecting riders with independent drivers. He found Uber vicariously liable for Tran's negligence as a common carrier and wrote that "Prop. 22 does not immunize Uber from vicarious liability," referring to the 2020 ballot measure that classifies app drivers as independent contractors.

He also found Tran's testimony "largely -- in fact, almost entirely -- incredible and unbelievable" and wrote that Tran showed "far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers." According to the family's attorneys, evidence in the arbitration showed Uber had received earlier complaints about Tran's driving. One rider described a trip with him as "the least safe" ride they had experienced.

The ruling is an arbitration decision, not a court verdict, so it does not set legal precedent.

Uber and the family respond

"No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family," Uber said in a statement. The company added that "we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night." In an earlier filing, Uber argued the death resulted from the two women's "extreme intoxication," not Tran's driving. A spokesperson said Tran had completed thousands of trips without an unsafe drop-off. Tran can no longer drive for Uber.

Ken Parker told CalMatters that Uber has never apologized. "Their thoughts have never been with us," he said. He told ABC News that Uber quickly argued the award could not be made public and sent the family a non-disparagement agreement with a $10 million penalty for criticizing the company.

Asked what people should know about her daughter, Carol Normandin said, "Her laugh was contagious." Normandin-Parker graduated from UCLA in 2022.

What’s next

Uber says it disagrees with the ruling. Normandin-Parker's parents say the money will fund the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation, which advocates for ride-hailing safety and corporate accountability.