Arbitrator orders Uber to pay $40 million after driver ejects passenger on freeway

An arbitrator ordered Uber and driver Vu Tran to pay $40 million to the parents of 23-year-old Emily Normandin-Parker, who was fatally struck by traffic after being left beside California’s State Route 73 in August 2023. After Normandin-Parker’s friend vomited in the vehicle, Tran stopped at an unsafe freeway gore point, demanded a cleaning fee and ordered both intoxicated women out rather than taking them to a safe location. Retired Judge Richard A. Stone found Tran negligent, saying he knew the women were impaired, and ruled that Uber was vicariously liable as a common carrier with a duty to protect passengers; he rejected Uber’s argument that it was merely a technology platform and that Proposition 22 shielded it from liability. Normandin-Parker entered the freeway and was struck, while Tran drove near her body without rendering aid or calling 911. Her parents were awarded $20 million each, and her friend received an additional $300,000. Uber expressed sympathy and respect for the arbitration process but disagreed that it was legally responsible, while the family criticized the company’s safety policies.