Uber Ordered to Pay $40 Million After Driver Dumped UCLA Grad on Freeway Where She Was Killed

Uber has been ordered to pay $40 million to the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old UCLA graduate who was struck and killed on a Southern California freeway in August 2023 after her Uber driver ordered her out of the car.

Retired Los Angeles County Judge Richard A. Stone, serving as arbitrator, ruled that Uber and driver Vu Tran are jointly and severally liable for Normandin-Parker's death, according to a release from Panish, Shea, Ravipudi LLP, the law firm representing her parents, Carol Normandin and Ken Parker. The five-day arbitration concluded in March 2026, and Stone awarded Normandin and Parker $20 million each. Normandin-Parker's friend that night, Luna Moore, was separately awarded $300,000. Stone did not award punitive damages.

What Happened That Night

Normandin-Parker and Moore called an Uber home after a night out in Costa Mesa on Aug. 12, 2023. Moore got sick and vomited during the ride. Tran pulled over at a gore point on State Route 73, the triangular median separating an off-ramp from the freeway, and demanded a cleaning fee before ordering both women out, according to the arbitration award cited by ABC News and the LA Times.

Stone wrote that the gore point was an "unsafe and illegal" place to stop and that Tran could have used the nearby MacArthur Boulevard exit instead. GPS data showed Tran drove near Normandin-Parker's body after she was struck by another vehicle, then took the next exit and called Uber to pursue the cleaning fee rather than call 911, according to the law firm's release. Stone described Tran's testimony as "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."

Tran argued he wasn't at fault because Normandin-Parker walked into traffic herself. Stone rejected that argument.

A Mixed Record

The LA Times reported Tran had completed nearly 6,000 trips for Uber with a 4.96 rating and no prior incidents involving unsafe freeway stops or rider injuries. But attorneys for the family say Uber had also received complaints calling Tran's driving "reckless," with one rider describing a trip with him as "the least safe" ride they'd experienced and another saying flatly "he cannot drive." Parker told ABC News the complaints described Tran "driving the wrong way on a one-way, erratic driving, almost hitting pedestrians." Uber told customers it was reviewing Tran's account, but the LA Times reported evidence at arbitration showed the company never actually reviewed the incidents.

Uber's Defense

Uber's strongest argument, laid out during arbitration, was that Tran is an independent contractor under California's Proposition 22, and that the company shouldn't be held liable for a driver's individual conduct on the road. Stone rejected that defense, ruling instead that Uber is vicariously liable for Tran's negligence as a common carrier with a duty to protect passengers.

"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 carried by CBS News and other outlets. The company added it has "continued to strengthen" driver guidance, including instructions on avoiding drop-offs in unsafe locations.

The Confidentiality Fight

According to the family's attorneys at Panish, Shea, Ravipudi, Uber moved to keep the award sealed after it came down in March. The New York Post reported Uber sent the family a settlement agreement carrying a $10 million non-disparagement penalty if they spoke publicly about the case. CBS News' account describes the same clause slightly differently, characterizing it as a $10 million penalty for each instance the family spoke negatively about Uber, not a single flat penalty. Both descriptions trace to the same law firm statement, and the family rejected the offer outright.

"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."

Where This Leaves Things

The family has started the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation to push for stronger rideshare safety rules. Normandin told Good Morning America she "absolutely" believes Uber put profits over her daughter's safety. Uber has not said whether it will challenge the arbitration ruling in court, and no such filing has been reported. Tran is no longer driving for Uber, according to the company's statement.

Stone's ruling that Uber functions as a common carrier, not merely a technology platform shielded by Prop 22, cuts against the legal foundation Uber has relied on in California since 2020. Whether that reasoning holds up if Uber appeals, or gets cited in future rideshare liability cases, remains to be seen.