As Jessica Christie rode her motorcycle westbound on Broadway in San Francisco on Nov. 5, nearing a cafe where she worked as a barista, Uber driver Roberto Carlos Blandon Martinez was just ahead, receiving an alert for a new fare.

But as he made a U-turn from the curb, Martinez told investigators, he didn’t see the 23-year-old UC Berkeley student, poet and coffee aficionado, according to police reports.

Christie slammed into Martinez’s Honda Civic and catapulted off the bike, both her shoes rocketing off her feet. The Concord resident would die an hour later with broken arms, legs and massive internal bleeding.

Little was reported on the accident at the time, but San Francisco prosecutors have since charged Martinez with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. And on Thursday, Christie’s parents sued Martinez and Uber in San Francisco Superior Court, alleging wrongful death.

“He made an illegal U-turn responding to a call for service. He should’ve known better,” said attorney Andy Schwartz, who represents parents Penny and Scott Christie of Concord. “The proliferation of these ride-share vehicles in urban areas like San Francisco has created an additional set of hazards.”

Majeed Samara, Martinez’s criminal attorney, said he couldn’t comment on details of the case, which is scheduled for a hearing March 13.

“My client and his family are deeply saddened by the death of the motorcyclist,” Samara said. “He feels awful that someone died.”

Andrew Hasbun, an Uber spokesman, said Uber removed Martinez as a driver. He declined to comment further.

According to two police reports, Martinez awoke at 4 a.m. on Nov. 5 to begin his Uber shift and, about two hours later, had pulled over on the 700 block of Broadway.

Officer Dexter Tsang wrote that Martinez “stated he received a notification for waiting fare that was located in his opposite direction of travel. Martinez stated he attempted to perform a U-turn mid-block on Broadway ... Martinez stated he did not see the motorcycle when performing the U-turn.”

Officers found the driver at fault and cited him for making an illegal U-turn.

Christie had been on her way to Saint Frank Coffee on Polk Street that morning. She had worked as a barista at a number of gourmet coffee shops in San Francisco and the East Bay and competed in the World Barista Championship.

After attending Diablo Valley College in Pleasant Hill, she was preparing to graduate from UC Berkeley with a degree in English literature this year — and hoped to open her own coffee shop, her family said.

“While she was a full-time student, she worked every free minute making coffee,” her family wrote in a memorial biography. “Knowing Jessica’s drive, her iron will and her innate talents, there is no telling what Jessica would have accomplished.”

Matthias Gafni is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni