A California judge has ordered Uber to pay $40 million to the parents of a UCLA graduate left to die on a freeway by one of its drivers.
Carol Normandin and Ken Parker, whose daughter Emily Normandin-Parker was killed in August 2023, were awarded $20 million each following a five-day arbitration hearing in March presided over by retired Los Angeles County Judge Richard A. Stone. The ruling, which Uber fought to keep sealed under threat of a $10 million penalty against the grieving parents, was made public Thursday after the family refused to stay silent.
“Emily did everything Uber tells riders to do—she made the responsible choice not to drive and we trusted Uber to get her home safely. That trust cost our daughter her life,” Normandin and Parker said in a statement through their attorneys at Panish, Shea, Ravipudi.
The 23-year-old Laguna Beach native had been out with her friend Luna Moore in Costa Mesa on the night of August 12, 2023, when the pair summoned an Uber to get home safely. Driver Vu Tran ejected both women from his vehicle after Moore became ill and vomited, parking at a gore point where an exit ramp meets State Route 73. While Moore stood arguing with Tran over his demand for a cleaning fee, Normandin-Parker wandered into traffic and was struck by a passing car.
Stone ruled that Tran “needlessly placed” the two passengers in mortal danger through his own rage and negligence. “In a fit of anger, he needlessly placed them (and himself) in danger by illegally stopping in the gore point,” the judge wrote, adding that Tran had shown “far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers.”
Lawyers for the family presented evidence that Tran had accumulated prior complaints from passengers who described his driving as reckless. Previous riders claimed Tran “cannot drive” and that he was “the least safe” ride that one customer had experienced. Tran attempted to shift blame onto Normandin-Parker by arguing she had walked into traffic voluntarily, a defense Stone rejected outright.
Uber executives moved swiftly to bury the award, pressuring the parents with contractual gag provisions. “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 told Good Morning America on Thursday.
An Uber spokesperson issued a statement expressing sympathy while disputing the outcome. “While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night,” they said. The spokesperson added that the company has “continued to strengthen our approach to safety over the years.. Including additional guidance to drivers about avoiding drop-offs in unsafe locations.”
Normandin dismissed those assurances, stating she “absolutely” believes Uber prioritizes profits over passenger safety. Parker emphasized that the family’s decision to speak publicly stems directly from the company’s ongoing refusal to accept accountability. “The reason we’re talking is because he [Tran] didn’t take responsibility and neither did Uber,” he said. “They’re still not taking responsibility. We do not want this to ever happen to another mother or father.”
Normandin-Parker, who graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, was remembered by loved ones as a vibrant creative force. “Emily was anything but ordinary,” her family wrote in an obituary. “She was beautiful, empathetic, brave, smart, interesting, hilarious and extraordinary. She was a bright light, our Emily, and her life had just begun.” The family established the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation to advocate for stronger rideshare safety regulations.
Moore, who survived the incident but witnessed her friend’s death while locked in confrontation with Tran, was separately awarded $300,000 through the arbitration process.