Six Flags records reveal hundreds of park ride injuries
One of Six Flags Magic Mountain’s most famous roller coasters is officially done. The park announced Tuesday that X2 will permanently close, roughly a month after a CNN investigation detailed years of serious injuries and deaths allegedly connected to the ride.
Six Flags Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding said X2 had “consistently passed” numerous safety tests, but the company decided to shut it down because it believed that was “the right thing to do.” That decision comes after a growing number of riders and families have alleged that the ride caused severe brain injuries, hospitalizations and, in some cases, deaths.
X2 has been turning heads and allegedly hurting people for years
X2 has been one of Magic Mountain’s signature attractions for nearly two decades. It is famous among coaster enthusiasts for its unusual 4th-dimensional design, where the seats rotate 360 degrees independently of the track. The ride reaches speeds of nearly 80 mph and lasts about two minutes.
But allegations of serious injuries associated with X2 go back more than a decade. According to CNN's investigation, more than a dozen serious injury and hospitalization reports had been documented, including at least two deaths. Then came two more injuries in July. Two women ended up in the same Santa Clarita emergency room with brain injuries after riding X2 just six days apart. The ride was temporarily closed the day after the second woman's injury.
The number of alleged victims continued to grow. Attorneys said last week that more than 100 additional people had come forward claiming they suffered brain injuries of varying severity after riding X2 within the past two years. Among those complaining is Saimon Kasawa, who got injured on the park’s CraZanity ride. According to a lawsuit he filed against the park, the ride operator there activated the attraction’s mechanical harness without giving him a heads-up, causing the mechanical harness to come down without warning and inflict “significant injuries.”
Some of the injuries have been devastating
One of the most serious cases involves 26-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, who remains in a coma after riding X2 this year. Her parents say Six Flags should have shut the ride down much earlier. Greer-Wilkinson rode X2 just six days after another rider, Pamela Guillen, lost consciousness after getting off the attraction and was rushed into emergency brain surgery.
Guillen survived, but her recovery has been brutal. She has described having to relearn how to walk and talk and continues to deal with severe headaches and brain fog. She also takes medication to prevent seizures.
“I’m relieved that X2 is closing for good,” Guillen told CNN after the closure was announced.
Another family has been waiting four years
The family of 22-year-old Christopher Hawley has been pushing for X2 to close since he died four years ago. Hawley suffered a traumatic brain injury after riding the coaster and died hours later. Neurosurgeons who treated him reportedly compared his injuries to those seen in shaken-baby syndrome.
The medical examiner attributed his death to blunt head trauma from a park ride accident. Hawley's family sued Six Flags and reached a tentative settlement last month.
His mother, Anne Hawley, said the family believes the ride should have been shut down before her son was ever injured and certainly after his death. Attorneys representing the family have also taken on new clients alleging injuries linked to X2, including the family of a young man who they say died after riding the coaster in late 2025.
Safety comes first
Despite the allegations, Six Flags maintains that X2 repeatedly passed its safety testing. According to Oerding, ride safety is “a cornerstone” of the company's business. The executive further revealed that the company takes concerns seriously when guest confidence is affected.
The permanent closure doesn't settle the lawsuits or determine whether Six Flags was legally responsible for the injuries. Those questions will continue to play out separately. But after years of complaints, lawsuits and increasingly serious allegations, it is no longer up for debate whether X2's nearly two-decade run is over. For the people who say the ride changed their lives forever, that closure comes far too late.
