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The family of a child struck and killed on New Year's Eve by an Uber car-for-hire contractor is suing the company for wrongful death, KTVU.com reported Monday.

Sofia Liu, 6, was killed at about 8 p.m. on Dec. 31 around the intersection of Polk and Ellis streets in San Francisco, the news channel reported. Police identified 57-year-old Union City, Calif. resident Syed Muzzafar as the driver of the vehicle that struck Liu.

Sofia Liu was reportedly walking alongside her mother and brother when she was killed.

The Liu family filed a wrongful-death lawsuit in San Francisco Superior court on Monday, seeking damages from Muzzafar and Uber.

"Uber shares in the profits of its drivers and must share in the responsibility for the harms they cause," Christopher Dolan, the attorney for the Lius, was quoted as saying by KTVU.com.

Uber confirmed that Muzzafar "was a partner of Uber," but claimed that he "was not providing services on the Uber system during the time of the accident."

"Our hearts go out to the family and victims of the accident that occurred in downtown San Francisco last night. We work with transportation providers across the Bay Area, but we can confirm that this tragedy did not involve a vehicle or provider doing a trip on the Uber system," Uber said in a statement released on Jan. 1.

Later, that statement was updated to reflect that San Francisco police had identified the driver and that his Uber account had been deactivated per the company's policy in such matters.

While Muzzafar may not have been transporting an Uber customer when the accident took place, the Liu lawsuit claims he was "viewing or interacting with his UberX smartphone app at the time of the collision and that Uber should have known that such use of the app violates state law banning cell phone use while driving without a hands-free device," KTVU.com reported.

"The design of the Uber app and driver interface requires drivers to use the app in such a manner as to violate the law. Muzzafar's distraction was a substantial factor in causing the subject accident and resultant harm," the lawsuit said, according to KTVU.com.

Police arrested and booked Muzzafar on New Year's Eve. He reportedly posted bail and was released the following day, and has yet to be charged with a crime.