Two women have suffered severe brain injuries after riding the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, according to a CNN investigation. Pamela Guillen, 40, and Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, both experienced traumatic brain injuries within a week of each other in July, resulting in emergency surgeries.
Guillen, visiting the park for her daughter's birthday, reported hitting her head against the headrest multiple times during the ride before losing consciousness. "It was seconds. You go in as yourself and when you come back you are a medical emergency," she told CNN. Her daughter described her mother as appearing "lifeless" after disembarking. Surgeons were able to save Guillen's life by removing part of her skull to relieve pressure, but she has had to relearn basic functions and continues to experience daily headaches and fatigue.
Just six days after Guillen's incident, Greer-Wilkinson collapsed after riding the same roller coaster. Her father stated that the jarring motion had damaged part of her brain, causing it to bleed. Doctors performed emergency brain surgery to save her life, but she remains in a coma and on a ventilator. One surgeon reportedly expressed anger, questioning why the ride remained operational after previous incidents.
Both women's injuries are believed by medical professionals to have been caused by the X2's rapid acceleration-deceleration forces. "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," doctors wrote in an email viewed by CNN.
The X2, described as the world's first fourth-dimension rollercoaster, reaches speeds of nearly 80 miles per hour and flips rider seats 360 degrees. It has been linked to more than a dozen injury reports and hospitalizations over the past two decades.
This is not the first reported fatality associated with the ride. In 2022, 22-year-old Christopher Hawley died of blunt head trauma after riding the X2, which a coroner's report attributed to a "park ride accident." His family reached a settlement with park operator Magic Mountain LLC and a supplier for the coaster trains. In 2010, 28-year-old Hilda Farias also died after riding the roller coaster, with doctors believing the ride's intensity ruptured a pre-existing brain abnormality; her family later settled a lawsuit.
The X2 roller coaster has been closed since July 12. Six Flags has not provided a reason for the closure and has declined to answer CNN's questions regarding the incidents and why the ride remained open after the first injury.
