Six Flags Magic Mountain has permanently closed its X2 roller coaster after a series of lawsuits alleged that riders suffered severe brain injuries on the California attraction.
asserted
riders → close → attraction
The Valencia theme park announced Tuesday that it had decided to retire the ride after nearly 20 years.
asserted
it → announce → years
The ride, which Six Flags once called “a rite of passage for the ultimate daredevil,” reached 76 mph and 200 feet, with 3,610 feet of track, but has been closed since July 12 after two riders suffered life-threatening brain injuries less than a week apart.
asserted
riders → call → injuries
“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,” Magic Mountain President Brian Oerding said in a statement posted to the park’s website.
asserted
Oerding → pass → website
“Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously,” he added.
asserted
he → see → it
The coaster opened as X in 2002 and was redesigned with lighter trains before reopening as X2 in 2008.
asserted
coaster → open → 2008
Its seats rotate 360 degrees as riders navigate drops, twists and inversions.
asserted
riders → rotate → drops
Over 16 million people have ridden X2 since its 2008 reopening, Six Flags said.
asserted
Flags → ride → reopening
However, more than 100 people allege that the two-minute, 34-second ride caused lasting brain injuries, according to a CNN investigation published last week.
uncertain
ride → allege → investigation
Six Flags faces multiple lawsuits over the alleged injuries.
asserted
Flags → face → injuries
CNN identified more than a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalizations associated with X2 over nearly two decades, including two deaths.
asserted
CNN → identify → deaths
Two riders suffered brain hemorrhages after riding the coaster in July, CNN reported.
asserted
CNN → suffer → July
Among the three most recent cases is Pamela Guillen, who visited Magic Mountain with her family in July to celebrate her daughter's 16th birthday.
asserted
who → visit → birthday
Guillen said she became confused and disoriented after riding X2 and later woke up in a hospital, where she learned she had suffered a traumatic brain injury and undergone emergency surgery.
asserted
she → say → surgery
“Everything went blank.
asserted
Everything → go → ?
My next memory is waking up in the hospital about two weeks later,” Guillen told ABC7 Los Angeles.
asserted
Guillen → wake → ABC7
"I had suffered a traumatic brain injury and needed emergency brain surgery to stop the bleeding and had to be intubated.
asserted
I → suffer → bleeding
I spent almost a month at the hospital," Guillen said.
asserted
Guillen → spend → hospital
Six days later, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, rode X2 and lost consciousness shortly afterward, according to her family's attorneys.
uncertain
Wilkinson → ride → attorneys
She was taken to a hospital and underwent emergency brain surgery.
asserted
She → take → surgery
Her family said she remained hospitalized and was unable to breathe on her own as of ABC7 Los Angeles’ report last week.
asserted
she → say → report
A third recent plaintiff, Michael Wick, also alleges he suffered a brain injury after riding X2.
asserted
he → allege → X2
His attorney said Wick underwent two brain surgeries and is now unable to practice law because of a disability.
asserted
Wick → say → disability
The recent lawsuits follow the 2022 death of Christopher Hawley, 22, who lost consciousness shortly after getting off X2 and died the following day after suffering severe brain bleeding, according to his family's lawsuit.
uncertain
who → follow → lawsuit
His parents sued Six Flags, Magic Mountain and S&S Worldwide, the company associated with the ride's trains.
asserted
parents → sue → trains
The family reached a settlement in August, according to KTLA.
uncertain
family → reach → KTLA
Hilda Farias, 28, also died after riding X2 in 2010, according to court records cited by the Los Angeles Times.
uncertain
Farias → die → Times
She developed a brain bleed that led to her death.
asserted
that → develop → death
Six Flags has declined multiple outlets’ requests for comment, citing pending litigation.
asserted
Flags → decline → litigation
The Independent has contacted Six Flags for comment.
asserted
Independent → contact → comment
The X2 closure comes as Magic Mountain prepares to open Thrill Glider in 2027.
asserted
Mountain → come → 2027
Six Flags describes it as the world’s first suspended, multi-launch Thrill Glider coaster, featuring bike-like seats, five inversions, multiple launches and speeds of up to 50 mph.
asserted
Flags → describe → mph
The Aporia
.jpeg?trim=0,11,0,11&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800)
.png?trim=0,0,0,0&width=1200&height=800&crop=1200:800)