Six Flags Magic Mountain has closed its X2 roller coaster following two incidents in July that required riders to undergo emergency brain surgery. The park in Valencia, California, took the action after the July 5 and July 11 incidents involving the 24-year-old ride, according to a CNN investigation.
On July 5, Pamela Guillen, 40, of Hawaii, experienced severe head impacts against the headrest while riding the coaster at speeds up to 80 mph. After the ride concluded, she began vomiting and lost consciousness. Part of her skull was removed to alleviate brain swelling, and she remained in a coma for approximately two weeks. Just six days later, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, of Los Angeles, also lost consciousness after riding the X2 with her siblings and required emergency brain surgery. She remains on a ventilator in a coma.
The ride was shut down on July 12 after Greer-Wilkinson's injury and remains closed. Families of both women have reportedly been offered food by a Six Flags representative but have not heard further from the company.
The X2 coaster has a history of serious incidents. In June 2022, Christopher Hawley, 22, collapsed and died from a traumatic brain injury the day after riding the X2. A surgeon described the damage to his skull as akin to shaken baby syndrome. The Los Angeles County medical examiner ruled Hawley's death an accident caused by blunt head trauma from the park ride. His family sued Six Flags in 2023, and the case was reportedly settled for an undisclosed amount before trial.
An expert retained by Hawley's family cited internal Six Flags records indicating at least 70 complaints of head or neck injuries linked to the X2 in the three years before Hawley's death. In 2010, Hilda Farias, 28, also died after riding the X2. Medical experts at the time attributed her death to multiple factors, including a pre-existing brain abnormality that may have ruptured due to the ride's intensity. Her family also reached a separate settlement for an undisclosed amount.
Since its opening in 2002, the X2 has been associated with two deaths and more than a dozen serious injuries and hospitalizations, including riders left in comas or with permanent disabilities.