By The Epoch Times | Created at 2026-09-18 19:46:57 | Updated at 2026-09-18 21:42:41
2 hours ago
Uber and one of its former drivers have been ordered to pay $40 million to the parents of a 23-year-old woman, who was struck and killed by traffic after an Uber ride ended prematurely on a Southern California freeway.
Retired Judge Richard A. Stone, acting as arbitrator, rejected Uber’s argument that it merely provides a software platform connecting riders with independent drivers, according to the arbitration award shared by attorneys representing the family on Friday.
Stone concluded that Uber has a common carrier’s duty to protect its passengers and is accountable for harm drivers cause.
Ride Ended in Tragedy
The award stems from the August 2023 death of Emily Normandin-Parker, a University of California–Los Angeles graduate who had called an Uber for a ride home after a night out with her friend, Luna Moore.
After an intoxicated Moore vomited in the car, driver Vu Tran pulled into a gore point separating an exit ramp from State Route 73 in Orange County, according to the award.
Normandin-Parker, who was also intoxicated, walked away from the vehicle and entered freeway traffic, while Moore was arguing with Tran about a cleaning fee.
The parties disputed what happened immediately before the stop. Tran maintained that the riders asked him to pull over and said he believed he was responding to an emergency. Moore gave a different account.
Stone said neither witness was entirely reliable on every detail, noting that Moore was heavily intoxicated and that her recollection was unreliable on the question of whether she asked Tran to stop.
Stone was more critical of Tran’s testimony, calling his account of key events almost entirely unbelievable. He rejected Tran’s claim that he could not have anticipated that Normandin-Parker might leave the vehicle and enter traffic after the stop.
Stone ultimately found that Tran stopped in an “unsafe and illegal” gore point when he could have taken the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit and stopped in a safer location. He also credited Moore’s testimony that an angry Tran ordered the two women out of the vehicle following the dispute.
“Tran showed far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers,” Stone wrote. “In a fit of anger, he needlessly placed them (and himself) in danger by illegally stopping in the gore point.”
GPS evidence also showed that Tran drove near Normandin-Parker’s body as he left the area and then took the next exit, where he contacted Uber about recovering a cleaning fee, according to the award.
Uber Held Liable
Although attorneys for Normandin-Parker’s family argued during arbitration that Uber had previously received complaints about Tran’s driving, Stone did not base the award on the claim that Uber negligently retained or supervised Tran.
Uber argued that Proposition 22 protected it from vicarious liability. The 2020 California ballot measure generally classifies qualifying app-based rideshare and delivery drivers as independent contractors rather than employees.
Stone rejected that argument, saying Proposition 22 did not shield Uber from a lawsuit for its drivers’ conduct under the common-carrier legal doctrine applied in the case.
Uber said it disagrees with the decision to hold the company legally responsible.
“While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night,” an Uber spokesperson said in a statement to The Epoch Times.
“We have continued to strengthen our approach to safety over the years, through new technology, policies and safeguards informed by safety experts, including additional guidance to drivers about avoiding drop-offs in unsafe locations.”
$40 Million Award
The arbitrator awarded $20 million each to Normandin-Parker’s parents, Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, for past and future noneconomic damages.
Moore was separately awarded $300,000 for negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress. No punitive damages were awarded.
Normandin-Parker’s parents said the case was about accountability and preventing similar deaths.
“You cannot claim to put safety first while fighting to silence the families whose lives have been devastated when that promise is broken,” the parents said in a statement released by their attorneys. “Nothing will ever bring Emily back, but we will not allow what happened to her to be hidden.”
The couple has established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation in their daughter’s memory to advocate for stronger rideshare safety protections. They said they want to use the award to support the foundation.
