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Six Flags Magic Mountain said Tuesday it is permanently closing the famed X2 roller coaster after multiple lawsuits alleged some riders were left with serious brain injuries.
The Southern California theme park said it was retiring the ride for good after nearly 20 years. The announcement comes about a month after Six Flags settled a lawsuit brought by the family of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old San Diego State University graduate. Hawley died from blunt-force head trauma one day after riding X2 in 2022.
And just last week, three more lawsuits were filed alleging that the X2 caused traumatic brain injuries for additional riders. Dordick Law Corporation, the firm that filed the complaints, has been retained by 100 others who claim they have suffered similar injuries.
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“While X2 consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do. Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously,” Brian Oerding, the park’s president, said in a statement.
The X2 coaster had been closed since the evening of July 12, when two women who rode it less than a week apart were each hospitalized after exiting the ride.
Pamela Guillen rode X2 on July 5 while celebrating her daughter’s 16th birthday, and the ride repeatedly slammed her head against the headrest, according to attorneys at Dordick Law Corporation.
Guillen allegedly needed help off the ride and began vomiting before losing consciousness. She was then rushed to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery to remove part of her skull after being diagnosed with a subdural hematoma. She regained consciousness roughly two weeks later, her lawyers said.
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Speaking at a press conference last week, Guillen recalled “seeing the fear in my daughter’s eyes” moments before she lost consciousness after riding X2.
Six days after Guillen’s hospitalization, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson lost consciousness riding the same coaster.
After getting emergency brain surgery, Greer-Wilkinson remains in a vegetative state, unable to move, speak or breathe without a ventilator, the AP reported. Her parents filed a lawsuit against Six Flags on her behalf.
Gary A. Dordick, the lead attorney for the X2 clients, said the decision to close the ride “comes too late.”
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“Hundreds of people have contacted our firm about injuries they believe were caused by X2. Closing the ride protects future guests, and we welcome that. But it does nothing for the people who have already been hurt. Six Flags must now take responsibility for them,” Dordick said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We will keep fighting for every rider who was injured on X2. We will hold Six Flags accountable. Today’s decision will not keep us from continuing with our lawsuits,” he added.
Dordick said he expects to file additional lawsuits in the coming weeks.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health launched an investigation into the ride following the July incidents, and the probe remains ongoing.
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The X2 roller coaster reached a top speed of 76 mph, had a total length of 3,610 feet, and featured “head-first, face down drops,” according to the Six Flags website.
“Feel your sense of direction disappear as you fly through an unreal assortment of dives, flips and twists plus two ultra-rare ‘raven turns’ — half loops that change their minds midway and become sheer drops,” the description read. “To make things even better, your 360° seat extends on wings far off the track, so your body will be flipping around the entire time.”
The X2 debuted at the Los Angeles County theme park in 2002 under the name X and was promoted as the world’s first “fourth-dimension” roller coaster.
It reopened in 2008 as the X2 with new trains and special effects, including fog and pyrotechnic flamethrowers.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
