Six Flags Magic Mountain permanently shuts down X2 after series of catastrophic brain injuries
A massive roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain has closed permanently after passengers allegedly suffered a series of catastrophic brain injuries.
The Valencia theme park’s president Brian Oerding announced on Tuesday that after almost 20 years of the X2 in operation, the park made the decision to permanently retire the roller coaster.
“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,” Oerding wrote in a theme park blog post.
“Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously.”
The X2 initially opened in 2002 as the X roller coaster before undergoing upgrades and reopening as X2 in 2008, KTLA reported.
It was the world’s first fourth-dimensional roller coaster, reaching speeds of nearly 80 mph, with seats that could rotate 360 degrees during drops of up to 200 feet.
Oerding ended his post about how the ride “has welcomed more than 16 million guests and earned a passionate following among ride enthusiasts.”
“We recognize the special place X2 holds in the coaster community, and we are grateful to our team members who operated and maintained it throughout its run.”
The closure comes on the heels of two deaths and a dozen injuries linked to the thrill ride at the park over the past 24 years.
The coaster has been shut down since July 12 after two riders suffered catastrophic injuries and needed emergency brain surgery in incidents just days apart this summer, according to an investigation by CNN.
Earlier this month, three new lawsuits were filed against the park, and a manufacturer of the X2 coaster, from people who alleged the coaster caused them traumatic brain injury, ABC7 News reported.
One of those involved in the suit is a 25-year-old woman, who is still on a ventilator months after she allegedly suffered a catastrophic brain injury on the ride.
Naomi Greer-Wilkinson is seen in photos surrounded by medical equipment, a breathing tube running from a tracheostomy in her neck, while another image shows her wearing a cervical collar.
Doctors who treated Greer-Wilkinson and another woman injured on the ride told CNN the brain injuries were the result of a “traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration event” experienced while riding X2.
Greer-Wilkinson was injured just six days after Pamela Guillen suffered a similar medical emergency on the same coaster while celebrating her daughter Camille Marquez’s 16th birthday.
Attorneys representing injured riders say more than 100 people have come forward in recent months claiming they suffered some form of brain injury after riding the roller coaster, the DailyMail reported.
“These people went to Magic Mountain for some entertainment, or some family fun, and they suffered catastrophic brain damage,” said attorney Gary Dordick, with the firm that filed the three new lawsuits, NBC Los Angeles reported.
Guillen ultimately regained consciousness and has been undergoing rehabilitation, while Greer-Wilkinson remains hospitalized.
In June 2022, 22-year-old Christopher Hawley collapsed and lost consciousness shortly after riding X2 with his brother and cousin.
He died from a traumatic brain injury the following day, with a surgeon describing damage akin to shaken baby syndrome in the skull of the San Diego State University graduate.
Hawley’s death was ruled an accident caused by blunt head trauma from a park ride by the Los Angeles County medical examiner.
His family sued Six Flags in 2023. In August, his parents reached an undisclosed settlement with Magic Mountain and the supplier of X2’s replacement trains.
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