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Six Flags Magic Mountain announced Tuesday that it is permanently closing the popular X2 roller coaster after several lawsuits allege some riders suffered serious brain injuries.
The Southern California theme park announced it was permanently retiring the ride after nearly 20 years. The announcement comes about a month after Six Flags settled a lawsuit filed by the family of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old San Diego State University graduate. Hawley died of blunt force head trauma one day after riding the X2 in 2022.
And just last week, three more lawsuits were filed alleging the X2 caused head trauma to other riders. Dordick Law Corporation, the firm that filed the complaints, has been retained by 100 others who say they suffered similar injuries.
Six Flags Magic Mountain is facing three new lawsuits alleging its X2 attraction, seen above, caused catastrophic brain injuries to riders. (Shutterstock)
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“Although X2 has consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the ride because we believe it is the right thing to do. Ride safety is the cornerstone of our business, and when we see customer confidence being impacted, we take it seriously,” Brian Oerding, park president, said in a statement.
The X2 roller coaster had been closed since the evening of July 12, when two women who were riding it less than a week apart were each hospitalized after leaving the ride.
Pamela Guillen rode X2 on July 5 while celebrating her daughter’s 16th birthday, and the ride repeatedly slammed her head against the headrest, according to attorneys at Dordick Law Corporation.
Guillen reportedly needed help leaving the ride and began vomiting before losing consciousness. She was then rushed to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery to remove part of her skull after being diagnosed with a subdural hematoma. She regained consciousness about two weeks later, her lawyers said.
An aerial view of the Six Flags Magic Mountain roller coaster on March 6, 2026, in Valencia, California. Christopher Hawley, 22, was fatally injured a day after riding the X2 roller coaster. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images; Christopher Hawley/Facebook)
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Speaking at a press conference last week, Guillen recalled “seeing the fear in my daughter’s eyes” moments before she lost consciousness after riding the X2.
Six days after Guillen was hospitalized, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, lost consciousness on the same roller coaster.
After undergoing emergency brain surgery, Greer-Wilkinson remains on a ventilator. His parents filed a lawsuit against Six Flags on his behalf.
Gary A. Dordick, the lead attorney for X2 clients, said the decision to close the ride “comes too late.”
Roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California on March 6, 2026. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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“Hundreds of people have contacted our company about injuries they believe were caused by X2. Closing the ride protects future guests, and we welcome that. But it does nothing for the people who have already been injured. Six Flags must now take responsibility,” Dordick said in a statement Tuesday.
“We will continue to fight for every rider injured on X2. We will hold Six Flags accountable. Today’s decision will not stop us from continuing our pursuit,” he added.
Dordick said he plans to file more lawsuits in the coming weeks.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health launched an investigation into the ride following the July incidents, and the investigation continues.
The first riders of the new X2 ride at Six Flags Magic Mountain on May 22, 2008 in Valencia, California. (Mathew Imaging/WireImage)
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The X2 roller coaster reached a top speed of 76 mph, had a total length of 3,610 feet and featured “head-first, face-down drops,” according to the Six Flags website.
“Feel your sense of direction disappearing as you fly through an unreal assortment of dives, flips, and twists, plus two ultra-rare ‘crow turns’—half loops that change your mind midway and become outright drops,” the description reads. “To make things even better, your 360° seat extends on wings away from the track, so your body will turn around all the time.”
The X2 debuted at the Los Angeles County theme park in 2002 under the name X and was billed as the world’s first “fourth dimension” roller coaster.
It reopened in 2008 as X2 with new trains and special effects, including fog and pyrotechnic flamethrowers.
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