Six Flags closes X2 roller coaster following brain injuries, hospitalizations and past fatal incidents

Emergency shutdown in California

Six Flags Magic Mountain closed its roller coaster X2 following two severe brain injury incidents that occurred within less than a week during July. Pamela Guillen, a 40-year-old visitor from Hawaii, lost consciousness after riding the attraction with her daughter. Guillen suffered a subdural hematoma and brain compression, remaining in a coma for two weeks before beginning rehabilitation to relearn how to walk and speak. Days later, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson of Los Angeles lost consciousness on the same ride and was hospitalized with severe head trauma. Greer-Wilkinson remains in a coma. Park management halted operations on 12 July, stating only that the attraction remains closed at this time.

Medical warnings over extreme forces

The X2 coaster reaches speeds of up to 122 km/h and features a 65-meter drop alongside seats that rotate 360 degrees independently of the track. The ride also executes two raven turns where riders rotate upside down while falling backwards. Three neurosurgeons involved in treating Guillen and Greer-Wilkinson concluded that the brain damage resulted from traumatic impact caused by extreme acceleration and deceleration forces. Guillen reported that her head repeatedly struck the headrest during the ride.

You get on as yourself and you come out as a medical emergency.

Guillen currently takes anti-seizure medication and continues recovery from chronic headaches.

I take it one day at a time so as not to let myself be overwhelmed and not sink into a vortex of mourning for who I was and what I was able to do before.

Two decades of documented injuries

The recent hospitalizations form part of a pattern of injuries documented since X2 opened in 2002. Records compiled from court files, medical papers, and park documents show more than a dozen severe injury reports, hospitalizations, cases of permanent disability, and two deaths linked to the ride. In 2009, a 62-year-old passenger filed a lawsuit against Six Flags after suffering a traumatic brain injury. In 2014, 17-year-old Selena O'Neil developed a subdural hematoma after riding X2, experiencing blurred vision, loss of balance, and uncontrollable right leg tremors. In 2019, physicians published O'Neil's case in a scientific journal, warning that industry competition to produce intense sensations risks pushing accelerations beyond human physical tolerance.

Fatalities and legal settlements

The attraction has also been linked to fatal outcomes. In 2022, 22-year-old Christopher Hawley died hours after riding X2 due to a brain injury. On Thursday, Six Flags reached an out-of-court settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Hawley's family. While park marketing promoted X2 as a rite of passage for daredevils, medical specialists continue to examine whether the ride's multidirectional forces exceed safe physical limits for passengers.