Six Flags X2 roller coaster shuts after wave of brain injury claims

The infamous 76mph coaster has carried more than 16 million riders — now it is being retired amid lawsuits and a state investigation

One of America's most famous rollercoasters is being permanently retired after more than 100 people alleged they suffered serious brain injuries while riding it.

Six Flags Magic Mountain in California announced Tuesday that X2, its extreme 360-degree rotating-seat coaster, would never reopen.

The decision follows a growing legal storm around the ride, which has been closed since July after two women suffered serious brain injuries within six days of each other.

One, Pamela Guillen, reportedly suffered a severe brain bleed and required emergency surgery. Another rider, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, lost consciousness after riding X2 and underwent brain surgery. Her family says she remains severely disabled.

More than 100 claims

Lawyers investigating the ride say they have been contacted by around 400 people, with more than 100 alleging brain injuries linked to X2 in the past two years.

There is also a much darker history.

Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old university graduate, died after riding X2 in 2022. His family later brought a wrongful-death lawsuit, which was settled this year.

California's workplace safety regulator, Cal/OSHA, also opened an investigation following one of the July incidents.

Six Flags insists it passed safety tests

X2 opened in 2002 and was redesigned before returning as X2 in 2008. It has since carried more than 16 million passengers.

Six Flags says the ride consistently passed its safety tests but decided to retire it because of concerns about guest confidence.

The company has declined to comment on pending litigation.

The lawsuits, meanwhile, allege problems with the ride's design, testing and maintenance. Those claims remain contested.

For a ride famous for throwing passengers through plunges and violent rotations at up to 76mph, its final chapter is now being written in courtrooms rather than on the track.

After almost two decades — X2 is finished.

AN ORIGINAL