Parents win $40 million award in Uber passenger death case

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Ken Parker and Carol Normandin pose for a portrait with their dog, Trooper, and a photo of their late daughter, Emily Normandin-Parker on September 18, 2026 | Photo Credit: AP

The parents of a 23-year-old woman who was fatally struck after her Uber driver pulled over along a southern California highway were awarded $40 million after an arbitrator found both Uber and the driver liable for her death.

Carol Normandin and Ken Parker said on Friday (September 18, 2026) that they hope the amount will put a spotlight on the 2023 death of their daughter, Emily Normandin-Parker, and to use the money to advocate for strengthening safety standards and transparency in the ride-hailing industry.

“I want to do good with it,” Mr. Parker said of the money, “but I never wanted it. No parent would ever want it. The best thing about it is that it's bringing attention to the issue that sorely needs attention.”

On the night she was killed, Normandin-Parker had ordered the Uber for her and her friend to get home after spending a night out drinking. When the friend got sick and vomited, driver Vu Tran pulled over on the side of Route 73 in Orange County, and all three got out of the car before Normandin-Parker was hit by traffic.

During arbitration, Uber had argued that it’s a technology platform connecting riders with “independent third-party drivers,” according to the independent arbitrator, Richard Stone. But Mr. Stone, a retired judge, wrote that he rejected that argument and found Uber was “vicariously liable” for the driver’s negligence.

“While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night,” the company said in a statement, adding that they have continued to “strengthen our approach to safety over the years.”

Attorneys who represented Mr. Tran at the arbitration hearing did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The arbitration document, dated in July, was released by Ms. Normandin and Mr. Parker's attorneys this week. Mr. Stone decided Uber and Mr. Tran were jointly responsible for $20 million to each parent.

There are holes in what ultimately happened “in those crucial moments,” the arbitrator wrote, as “no one presented entirely credible testimony.” But the evidence shows Mr. Tran pulled into a gore point — the area between a ramp and the road — and began to argue with Normandin-Parker's friend outside of the car, according to Mr. Stone.

“In a fit of anger, he needlessly placed them (and himself) in danger by illegally stopping in the gore point when he could have easily stopped in a safe place instead alongside an active freeway at night,” Mr. Stone wrote. “Mr. Tran then abandoned those two young women, whom he knew to be intoxicated and whom he had kicked out of his car in his anger over what had transpired, in that spot.”

After Mr. Tran left the scene, GPS data shows he pulled over at the next exit and called Uber about securing a cleaning fee, Mr.