Uber pays $40m after driver kicked passenger out of car who was killed by passing vehicle
Uber has been ordered to pay $40 million (£29.7 million) to the parents of a 23-year-old woman who was killed after being left on the side of a California freeway by an Uber driver.
Emily Normandin-Parker was travelling home with a friend after a night out when the incident happened on 12 August 2023.
The driver, Vu Tran, reportedly stopped on State Route 73 in Orange County after Normandin-Parker’s friend was sick inside the vehicle.
According to the findings of a five-day arbitration hearing, Tran stopped at a section of the freeway known as a 'gore point', where lanes separate near an exit.
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The arbitrator, retired judge Richard A Stone, found the location to be an 'unsafe' place to stop.
Tran ordered Normandin-Parker and her friend to get out of the car, according to the arbitration.
"[The driver] showed far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers," the arbitration stated.
CBS News reports that after being kicked out onto the side of the road, Normandin-Parker was tragically struck by another vehicle and killed as their Uber drove away.
Stone found Uber legally responsible for the driver's conduct and has now awarded Normandin-Parker's parents, Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, $20 million each.
The judge said the driver could instead have taken the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit and stopped somewhere safer.
The case centred partly on whether Uber could be held responsible for the actions of a driver classified as an independent contractor under California law. Uber argued during the arbitration that it should not be liable for what happened.
The company has rejected the arbitrator's decision.
"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.
"While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night."
Normandin-Parker's family have shared a touching tribute, saying she was an 'exceptionally talented writer and lover of all of the arts'.
"She loved being with family, writing, drag shows, books, the ocean, animals, driving, concerts, music festivals, plays, musicals, movies, painting, drawing, the outdoors, baking with her dad and gardening with her mum," they said.
Her loved ones added that she was 'anything but ordinary… beautiful, empathetic, brave, smart, interesting, hilarious and extraordinary'.
According to People, Uber has since confirmed that the driver no longer has access to the platform.
The company has also said it has strengthened its safety measures, including guidance to drivers on avoiding unsafe drop-off locations.
Following the arbitration decision, Uber initially offered the family a settlement that would have restricted them from publicly discussing the incident, according to their lawyers.
The proposed agreement included a provision requiring the parents to pay $10 million each time they breached the confidentiality terms.
The family rejected the proposal.
"We turned it down because we would never accept that kind of condition," Parker told CBS News. "The case was never about money in the first place."
The couple has established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation in their daughter's memory, with plans to use the proceeds from the case to support its work advocating stronger safety protections for rideshare passengers.
Speaking after the ruling, Normandin said the family's priority was never financial compensation.
"We didn't want money. We just wanted Uber to do what it says it's going to do, which is bring her back home safely," she said.
LADbible Group has contacted Uber for further comment.
Jen Thomas