Uber Must Pay $40M After Fatal Freeway Drop-Off

A late-night Uber ride that fatally ended on the shoulder of a Southern California freeway has resulted in a $40 million arbitration award. The parents of 23-year-old Emily Normandin-Parker received the sum after an arbitrator found the company and driver Vu Tran liable in her 2023 death, reports ABC News. Tran left Emily and a friend—both intoxicated—at an "unsafe and illegal" area near a freeway off-ramp amid an argument over a cleaning fee, the arbitrator ruled. Normandin-Parker was struck and killed by a vehicle on the freeway on State Route 73.

"He chose to pull over there and demand money and kick them out of the car," mom Carol Normandin told Good Morning America. Retired Judge Richard A. Stone found that Tran showed "far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers" and could have easily brought the women to a safer location. Uber disputes being held responsible along with the driver but says it has tightened safety guidance. Stone rejected the argument that Uber was merely a tech platform, not a transportation provider.