Uber Ordered to Pay $40 Million After Driver Left 23-Year-Old on Orange County Freeway

Uber and one of its drivers have been ordered to pay $40 million to the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old UCLA graduate who was fatally struck by a vehicle after the driver left her and a friend along an Orange County, California, freeway.

Retired California Judge Richard A. Stone, serving as an arbitrator, found driver Vu Tran negligent and held Uber legally responsible for his conduct in the wrongful death case. The $40 million arbitration award gives Normandin-Parker’s mother, Carol Normandin, and father, Ken Parker, $20 million each following a five-day proceeding.

Normandin-Parker and her friend Luna Moore called an Uber after a night out on August 12, 2023. Moore became sick and vomited during the ride, prompting Tran to pull onto a gore point on State Route 73, the triangular area separating the freeway from an exit ramp.

Stone found that Tran stopped in an unsafe and illegal location even though he could have taken the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit and pulled over somewhere safer. Tran then argued with Moore over a cleaning fee and ordered both women out of the vehicle despite knowing they were intoxicated, according to the award.

Normandin-Parker walked away from the car and was struck and killed by traffic. Stone rejected Tran’s argument that he faced a sudden emergency and declined to assign comparative fault to Normandin-Parker.

GPS evidence showed Tran drove near the area where she had been struck before taking the next exit. Minutes later, he contacted Uber about recovering the cleaning fee. Stone wrote that Tran showed “far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers.”

A central issue in the case was whether Uber could be held responsible for Tran’s negligence even though the company classifies its drivers as independent contractors.

Stone concluded that Uber functioned as a common carrier because it offers transportation to the public, controls fares, and oversees key parts of the passenger experience. Under California law, common carriers owe passengers heightened safety duties, and the arbitrator found Uber could not avoid those obligations by classifying Tran as an independent contractor.

The finding also rejected Uber’s argument that California’s Proposition 22 shielded the company from liability. The voter-approved measure allows qualifying app-based drivers to be classified as independent contractors rather than employees, but Stone found that employment classification did not prevent Uber from being held responsible under California tort law.

Because the case was decided through private arbitration rather than an appellate court, the ruling does not create binding precedent for other cases. It does, however, provide an example of how California’s common carrier rules can be applied to a ride-hailing company while its drivers remain classified as independent contractors.

Moore was separately awarded $300,000. Uber and Tran were held jointly responsible for the awards, allowing the damages to be collected from either party. Stone awarded no punitive damages.

Evidence presented during arbitration also focused on Uber’s handling of passenger safety and earlier complaints involving Tran. Attorneys for Normandin-Parker’s parents said Uber had received reports criticizing his driving before the fatal ride.

Uber said Tran had completed nearly 6,000 trips with a 4.96 rating and had no previous incidents involving unsafe freeway stops, unsafe drop-offs or rider injuries. Tran no longer has access to the Uber platform.

“No family should have to suffer the loss of a child,” Uber said in a statement. The company said it respected the arbitration process but believed Stone was wrong to hold Uber legally responsible. It also said it has continued strengthening safety policies, including guidance directing drivers to avoid unsafe drop-off locations.

Another dispute developed after the award over whether the decision could become public. Attorneys for Normandin and Parker said Uber proposed an agreement containing a $10 million liquidated damages provision each time the parents publicly discussed the company’s connection to their daughter’s death. The parents rejected the proposed confidentiality terms. Uber has said it ultimately did not pursue confidentiality.

Normandin and Parker have established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation in their daughter’s name and said proceeds from the award will support ride-hailing safety advocacy, scholarships, mentorship programs and other causes.