Six Flags Magic Mountain’s X2 rollercoaster: Hundreds claim brain injuries from ride after three people sue

More than 100 people have come forward, claiming they sustained brain injuries while riding a terrifying rollercoaster.

The X2 Rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, has been quietly closed since July 12, the day after two riders suffered brain injuries “typically associated with high speed collisions” within days of each other.

However, the theme park has not addressed the closure.

Last month, a CNN investigation has revealed that the two women were treated for brain haemorrhages in the same week at a Southern Californian hospital in July after riding the extreme rollercoaster.

Since then, more than 100 people allege they suffered brain injuries in the past two years alone.

‘Ultimate daredevil’ ride

The X2 rollercoaster, which opened in 2002, advertises itself as a “rite of passage for the ultimate daredevil” on Six Flags Magic Mountain’s website.

As it travels more than 1.1 kilometres, the “fifth-dimension wing rollercoaster” reaches a top speed of 122.3 kilometres an hour and an elevation of almost 61 metres.

“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 website reads.

“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.

“Quite simply, you will be spun into another dimension.”

‘Gambling with people’s lives’

Three lawsuits have been filed against Six Flags this week, claiming they suffered “catastrophic brain damage” from the ride.

Civil attorney Christopher Bulone said the amusement park company “has been willingly gambling with people’s lives”, as published by CNN.

He added that, “No ride like that should be allowed to exist”.

Mr Bulone said that he and his fellow attorneys are now representing more than 100 clients, whose alleged brain injuries range in severity.

“These families, these people, went to Magic Mountain for some entertainment, for some family fun, and they suffered catastrophic brain damage,” attorney Gary Dordick said, NBC News wrote.

CNN reported that hundreds of other X2 riders came forward but were ineligible to sue.

In those cases, the injuries were not brain related, or there was not proof of medical treatment.

Dozens of injuries and hospitalisations

Over almost two decades, the ride has been linked to more than a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalisations.

Several of those injured suffered life-altering disabilities.

Two women—26-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson and 40-year-old Pamela Guillen— fell unconscious after disembarking the rollercoaster and presented to the emergency department where they both underwent brain surgery within days of each other.

The theme park’s lawyers have fought against lawsuits from injured riders, saying that “there are inherent risks in the participation in or on any amusement ride or attraction”, and arguing that the physical force is not strong enough to cause a traumatic brain injury.

However, Californian neurosurgeons who treated the women in July disagreed.

“In our professional opinion, the severe brain injuries requiring emergent neurosurgical attention were the result of a traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration event experienced while on the X2 ride.”

Since suffering from a severe subdural haematoma and brain compression, Ms Guillen has had to re-learn how to walk and talk.

She did not regain consciousness for two weeks.

Six days after the first incident, Ms Greer-Wilkinson experienced the same symptoms after riding the X2 rollercoaster and wound up in a coma, where she remains.

The two women allege in their lawsuit that the amusement park “continued to operate X2 without adequately investigating the cause of her injury or warning subsequent riders”.

The third suit was filed by Michael Wilk, who said he suffered brain bleeding after riding the rollercoaster in February and has had multiple brain surgeries.

He told CNN he had been left disabled and regularly struggled with severe headaches, memory loss, and brain fog.

“My brain has difficulty processing the words, and so unless it’s extraordinarily clear and loud, my brain gets the word wrong. I think I miss about half the conversations I’m in,” he said.

“I truly hope that by coming forward, changes will be made.”

Six Flags declined to comment on the pending litigation, CNN wrote.

Fatal rollercoaster rides

In 2010, Hildar Farias, 28, died after riding X2.

Her cause of death was believed to be a brain abnormality that ruptured because of the intensity of the ride.

In 2022, a 22-year-old man, Christopher Hawley, died mere hours after riding the rollercoaster, despite being in excellent health prior to the ride.

The neurosurgeon who treated him likened his injuries to “shaken baby syndrome”.

CNN revealed that in the three year’s prior to Hawley’s death, the park had received at least 70 reports of head and neck injuries associated with X2.

Six Flags did not answer questions posed by CNN last month about the injuries, instead simply responding, “the ride remains closed at this time”.