Family awarded $40 million after daughter left on freeway by Uber driver is killed

Uber was ordered to pay $40 million to the family of a woman killed on an Orange County freeway after a rideshare driver left her on the side of the road.

Carol Normandin and Ken Parker said their 23-year-old daughter, Emily Normandin-Parker, and a friend ordered an Uber after a night out on Aug. 12, 2023. During the ride, Normandin-Parker’s friend became sick and vomited in the car. The driver pulled over to the side of State Route 73 and kicked the women out of the car, leaving them on the side of the freeway. 

Normandin-Parker was fatally struck by another car as their Uber drove away.

“The reason we’re talking is because he didn’t take responsibility and neither did Uber,” Parker said. “They’re still not taking responsibility. We do not want this to ever happen to another mother or another father.”

During a five-day arbitration hearing, Uber argued that the driver was an independent contractor under California law and that the ridesharing company should not be held accountable for his actions. 

A retired judge acting as the arbitrator awarded Normandin and Parker $20 million each.

In a statement, Uber disagreed with the decision.

“No family should have to suffer the loss of a child, and our thoughts continue to be with the Normandin-Parker family,” Uber said. “While we respect the arbitration process, we believe the arbitrator was wrong in holding Uber legally responsible for the tragic events of that night.”

After the decision, Uber initially offered a settlement agreement that prohibited Normandin and Parker from publicly discussing the incident, with a provision requiring them to pay $10 million each time they did, according to Panish Shea Ravipudi LLP, the law firm representing the family.

“We turned it down because we would never accept that kind of condition,” Parker said. “The case was never about money in the first place.”

The family created the Emily Normandin-Parker Foundation to honor their daughter and advocate for stronger rideshare safety regulations. 

“In a private car, it’s whatever rules they have,” Normandin said. “It’s whatever they’re offended by. I think the whole business model of someone getting in a stranger’s car, a stranger to both Uber and a stranger to us, is just dangerous.”