A 23-year-old UCLA graduate was killed after an Uber driver pulled over on California 73 and ordered her and her friend out of the vehicle, according to an arbitration award.
Emily Normandin-Parker was riding home after a night out with her friend Luna Moore in August 2023 when Moore got sick in the Uber. The driver, Vu Tran, stopped at a freeway gore point, the triangular area by the freeway’s off-ramp. Tran demanded payment for a cleaning fee and allegedly ordered the women out of the vehicle, according to a news release from Panish, Shea, Ravipudi, the law firm representing Normandin-Parker’s parents.
Normandin-Parker was intoxicated and was killed by another car on the freeway, the release said. Judge Richard Stone ordered Uber to pay $40 million to Normandin-Parker’s parents, concluding that the company is responsible for its driver’s conduct. The amount was determined after a five-day arbitration process and hearing.
Carol Normandin told The Times that the legal victory felt “hollow” as Uber had not accepted responsibility in her daughter’s death. “He chose to pull over there and demand money and kick them out of the car,” Normandin told “Good Morning America.” “They argue, Emily gets hit while they’re arguing.”
According to the arbitration award, Tran drove near Normandin-Parker’s body before taking the next exit. He didn’t render aid or call 911 but called Uber to seek a cleaning fee, according to the law firm’s release. “No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family,” an Uber spokesperson 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.”
Judge Stone wrote in the arbitration that Tran stopped at an “unsafe and illegal” gore point and could have used the MacArthur Boulevard exit ramp and stopped at a safe place instead. “Tran showed far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers,” Stone wrote in the arbitration. Tran is no longer a driver with Uber, according to the statement. He reportedly had completed nearly 6,000 trips with a 4.96 rating and didn’t have previous incidents involving unsafe freeway stops or rider injury.
But, according to the release, Uber also received multiple complaints about Tran’s “reckless behavior” after one customer said that he provided “the least safe” ride he had experienced. Uber told customers it was reviewing Tran’s account, but evidence at the arbitration showed that the company didn’t review Tran’s incidents. Stone also ruled that Uber has a duty to protect its passengers and is accountable for harm caused by drivers. He rejected Uber’s claim that Proposition 22, which granted Uber an exemption from California employment law to continue treating workers as independent contractors, prevents Uber from being held liable.
The award provides $20 million each to Normandin and her husband, Ken Parker, for the death of their daughter. “It’s hard to describe the reaction because it’s a terrible thing that happened,” Parker told The Times. “My reaction was relief, a hollow sense of victory. It’s important that the judge did what he did because there have been additional deaths since Emily, and unless Uber changes the way it does business, there will be more.”
“It doesn’t bring Emily back,” Normandin said. “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.” The couple created the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation to honor their daughter’s memory and advocate for stronger rider safety protections. Her family intends to use the money to fund the foundation.
In a separate interview with ABC News’ Trevor Ault aired Thursday on “Good Morning America,” Normandin was asked if she believed Uber put profits over her daughter’s safety. “Absolutely,” she responded. Stone described Tran’s testimony as “largely — in fact, almost entirely — incredible and unbelievable.”
Moore was separately awarded $300,000. The arbitrator did not award punitive damages. Stone also found Uber vicariously liable for Tran’s negligence as a common carrier. In his decision, Stone rejected Uber’s argument that it is “merely a technology company” connecting riders with drivers, finding that Uber provides transportation services to the public through its app, sets prices and controls key aspects of the rider experience.
Normandin-Parker’s parents also spoke to “Good Morning America” about Uber’s efforts to keep the arbitration award from being made public. “We didn’t have much time to absorb the award before Uber almost immediately started contending that it could not be made public and then sent an agreement to us requiring non-disparagement, the $10 million penalty for saying anything bad about Uber,” Parker said. When asked what else they wanted people to know about their daughter, Normandin said, “Her laugh was contagious.” “And she was funny. And she could sing. Oh my god, could she sing,” Normandin said.
