Emily Normandin-Parker’s parents say the case should bring greater attention to passenger safety and accountability in the ride-hailing industry.
LOS ANGELES, CA — The parents of a 23-year-old woman who was struck and killed on a Southern California freeway after an Uber driver stopped and left her and a friend along the roadway are speaking publicly after an arbitrator awarded the family $40 million.
Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, the parents of Emily Normandin-Parker, said they hope the award will draw attention to the circumstances surrounding their daughter’s Aug. 12, 2023, death and encourage stronger safety practices in the ride-hailing industry. Retired Judge Richard A. Stone, serving as an arbitrator, found Uber and driver Vu Tran jointly responsible and awarded $20 million to each parent. Uber has disputed the finding that the company should be held legally responsible.
Normandin-Parker, a 2022 UCLA graduate, had been out with her friend Luna Moore in Orange County before the two requested an Uber ride home. According to the arbitration findings, Moore became sick and vomited during the trip. Tran then stopped on State Route 73 at a gore point, the triangular area separating freeway lanes from an exit ramp. The arbitrator described the location as unsafe and said Tran could have continued to a nearby exit and stopped in a safer place.
The arbitration record said Tran knew the women had been drinking. A dispute developed involving Moore and a cleaning fee, and the women were told to leave the vehicle. Stone found that Tran abandoned them in a dangerous location alongside an active freeway at night. Normandin-Parker later entered the roadway and was struck and killed by another vehicle. The arbitrator acknowledged gaps in the accounts of the crucial moments and wrote that the testimony presented during the proceeding was not entirely consistent.
GPS evidence showed Tran later took the next exit and contacted Uber about obtaining a cleaning fee, according to the arbitration findings. Stone concluded that Tran had focused more heavily on the condition of his vehicle than on the passengers’ safety. Moore separately received a $300,000 arbitration award. Punitive damages were not awarded.
The case also raised a broader question about when a ride-hailing company can be held responsible for a driver’s conduct. Uber argued that it operates a technology platform connecting riders with independent third-party drivers and pointed to California law allowing app-based drivers to be treated as independent contractors. Stone rejected the argument that the classification shielded Uber from liability in this case. He found that Uber provides transportation to the public, controls important parts of the rider experience and sets prices through its platform.
Stone found Uber vicariously liable for Tran’s negligence and determined that the company had safety obligations that could not be avoided by classifying the driver as an independent contractor. The decision came through private arbitration rather than a court judgment. Because the dispute was resolved through arbitration under Uber’s terms of service, the decision does not establish binding legal precedent for other cases.
Uber said it disagreed with the outcome. The company said no family should have to experience the loss of a child and expressed sympathy for Normandin-Parker’s family, while maintaining that the arbitrator was wrong to hold Uber legally responsible for what happened. Uber also said Tran no longer has access to its driver app. The company said he had completed nearly 6,000 trips with a 4.96 rating and that it has continued adding technology, policies and driver guidance aimed at preventing unsafe passenger drop-offs.
Normandin and Parker have sharply criticized Uber’s handling of the matter. In interviews following the release of the arbitration decision, they said accountability and safety were more important to them than the money. Parker said the family did not seek the outcome because it wanted a financial award, but hoped the attention surrounding the case could help prevent another family from experiencing a similar loss.
The parents also said Uber sought confidentiality after the arbitration award. Their attorneys said a proposed agreement included a provision that could have imposed a $10 million penalty each time the parents publicly disparaged the company. The family rejected the proposal. Uber later said it ultimately did not pursue confidentiality in the case. The arbitration document, dated in July, was made public by the family’s attorneys in September.
Normandin and Parker have established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation in their daughter’s memory. They said they intend to use money from the award to support ride-hailing safety advocacy, scholarships, mentorship programs and LGBTQ+ organizations. They described their daughter as creative, funny and kind, with ambitions as a writer and playwright. Parker said the value of the award, from his perspective, is the public attention it has brought to passenger safety questions that the family believes need greater scrutiny.
Uber continues to maintain that it should not have been held legally responsible, while the family says it will use the arbitration outcome to press for greater transparency and stronger ride-hailing safety standards. No further court proceeding arising from the arbitration award has been announced.
Author note: Last updated September 19, 2026.