Uber Technologies Inc. has been ordered to pay $40 million to the parents of a woman who was fatally struck by a vehicle after a driver left her and a friend on a California freeway, an arbitration document and lawyer said. On Aug. 12, 2023, the woman, Emily Normandin-Parker, 23, and her friend Luna Moore called an Uber to drive them home after a night out in Orange County, Calif., the document said. After Ms. Moore became sick and vomited, the driver, Vu Tran, pulled over on State Route 73 and stopped at a gore point.

While stopped in an “unsafe and illegal” spot, Mr. Tran argued with Ms. Moore about a cleaning fee. Ms. Normandin-Parker wandered into traffic “in an inebriated state” and was struck and killed by a vehicle traveling 70 miles per hour, the document said. The award was announced as the outcome of arbitration conducted in March by Richard A. Stone in Los Angeles.

The parents and Ms. Moore accused Mr. Tran and Uber of negligence, asserting that the company had liability as a common carrier. Uber argued that, under California Proposition 22, drivers are independent contractors. But the arbitrator noted that Uber controlled key aspects of the rider experience, set fares and profited directly from rides.

Uber was “vicariously liable” for Mr. Tran’s negligence. Ms. Moore was awarded $300,000. Ms. Normandin-Parker’s parents were each awarded $20 million. Lawyers for the family said Uber had tried to keep the outcome confidential by proposing a settlement agreement that would have required the parents to pay a $10 million penalty for each time they discussed it publicly. The parents turned it down.