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Uber Ordered to Pay $40M After Driver Abandons Intoxicated Passenger
Confirmed
In Short: Uber has been ordered to pay $40 million after a driver abandoned an intoxicated passenger who was subsequently killed.
Retired Judge Richard Stone ordered Uber to pay $40 million in an arbitration decision following the 2023 death of Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old woman who was struck and killed after her rideshare driver kicked her out on the side of a freeway.
Normandin-Parker, a 2020 UCLA graduate, was out with her friend Luna Moore when she called an Uber to take her home. The driver, Vu Tran, stopped on the 73 highway near the MacArthur off-ramp, demanding a cleaning fee after Moore vomited during the ride.
Instead of calling 911, Tran left and requested that Uber charge Normandin-Parker's account a cleaning fee, leaving the two women stranded alongside multiple lanes of freeway traffic.
Stone found that Tran 'needlessly placed' his passengers in danger and showed 'far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers.' He ordered Uber to pay $40 million to the parents of Normandin-Parker.
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,' said her parents, Carol Normandin and Ken Parker.
Uber must pay $20 million to each of Normandin-Parker’s parents, totaling $40 million, alongside an additional $300,000 to her friend. The company disagreed with the decision, stating they respect the arbitration process but believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible.
No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family,' a company statement said. However, the family's attorney, Rahul Ravipudi, said he was disappointed that Uber was still denying responsibility.
Based on the evidence, there was no doubt Uber was going to be found accountable for this tragedy,' Ravipudi said. 'Uber needs to stop harming people in preventable ways,' added Carol Normandin.
Stone's decision serves as a warning for Uber, emphasizing the need for stronger safety measures and policies to prevent such incidents.
What's confirmed
- Normandin-Parker, a 2020 UCLA graduate, was out with her friends in Costa Mesa when she called an Uber to take her to her Laguna Beach home with her friend, Luna Moore.
- Stone found that Tran "needlessly placed" his passengers in danger and showed "far more worry for his new car than he did for his passengers." "No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family," a company statement said.
- Uber must pay $40 million to the parents of a 23-year-old woman struck and killed after a ride-share driver abandoned her near traffic on the 73 highway in 2023, a judge wrote in an arbitration decision.
- “Hopefully, it (Uber) will learn from this tragic incident… and change the pertinent policies and procedures accordingly,” the judge wrote.
- “We were very pleased to see the judge put Uber on notice that their behavior was unacceptable,” said Ken Parker, Emily’s father.
- Her friend vomited during the ride, according to evidence presented during the arbitration process, and the Uber driver, Vu Tran, pulled over on the 73 near the MacArthur off-ramp and stopped around 1 a.m. in a gore point, the triangle-shaped zone where a highway lane and an exit or entrance ramp either split or join together.
- The driver demanded the riders pay a cleaning fee and ordered the two intoxicated young women out of the car, according to the evidence.
- “To make matters worse, 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,” the judge wrote.
- But Rahul Ravipudi, an attorney with the Los Angeles-based Panish Shea Ravipudi law firm representing Normandin-Parker’s parents, said he was disappointed that Uber was still denying responsibility for the young woman’s death.
- While an arbitration decision does not set legal precedent, the attorney said it should serve as a clear warning for Uber.
- “Based on the evidence, there was no doubt Uber was going to be found accountable for this tragedy,” Ravipudi said.
- “Should it (Uber) fail to do so, it no doubt engages in that approach at its own substantial risk.” Normandin-Parker’s parents said they were relieved to see that explicit warning.
What's still developing
- Retired Judge Richard Stone, an arbitrator, rejected Uber's argument that it "merely operates a technology platform" and that it was shielded from "vicarious liability for the negligence of its drivers," according to Panish Shea Ravipudi, the law firm representing the family of 23-year-old Emily Normandin-Parker.
- Prior to the deadly incident, Tran had completed 6,000 trips with a 4.96 rating, without a single incident involving unsafe drop-offs, freeway stops or rider injury, Uber said.
- An Uber lawsuit has resulted in a massive $40 million arbitration payout following a tragic 2023 incident where a passenger was dropped off on a dark California freeway and subsequently struck and killed by oncoming traffic.
- The driver was penalized for illegally stopping in a dangerous area instead of moving to a safe location, abandoning intoxicated passengers in a vulnerable state.
- Stone also sharply questioned the ride-share company’s approach to rider safety.