A U.S. court has ordered Uber to pay $40 million to the family of a 23-year-old woman who died after being forced off a freeway by a driver.
On 19 Sep 2026 GMT+7, a California court ordered Uber to pay $40 million, approximately 1.4 billion baht, to the family of Emily Normandin-Parker, a 23-year-old American woman who was fatally struck by another vehicle on a California highway in August 2023, after an Uber driver stopped and forced her and a friend to get out on the roadside.
Court documents state that on 12 Aug 2023, Emily called an Uber to go home with a friend, but during the ride, her friend became ill and vomited inside the car because both were intoxicated. The driver then stopped on the highway shoulder and forced the two women out, after which Emily was hit and killed by another vehicle.
The family’s lawyer said that after leaving the two women on the highway shoulder, the driver did not call for help but instead drove away to contact Uber to charge Emily a cleaning fee. Judge Richard Stone stated that the driver cared more about his new car's cleanliness than passenger safety and could have driven off the highway to a safer drop-off point for the women.
Previously, Uber stated that the company has continuously enhanced safety measures by implementing new technology, policies, and preventive steps, receiving advice from safety experts, and providing drivers with additional guidance on avoiding dropping off passengers in unsafe locations.
Additionally, Emily’s family’s legal office revealed that Uber had previously offered her parents a $10 million settlement with a condition preventing them from disclosing or discussing the incident, but the family rejected this offer.
Source: BBC