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3 clusters · 20 sources · 14 days · First seen · Last updated

Six Flags Magic Mountain X2 coaster safety incidents

Overview

The X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, has faced scrutiny following incidents involving rider injuries. Following a July incident where a rider was found unconscious, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) launched an investigation, and the ride remained closed for over a month.

Legal action has also been taken regarding a 2022 incident involving 22-year-old Christopher Hawley. His family filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that a defective design on the X2 coaster caused fatal injuries. The lawsuit claims the ride was extremely rough and that a sudden, violent jolt caused riders' heads to strike headrests, resulting in a catastrophic subdural hematoma. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner previously ruled the death an accident caused by blunt head trauma sustained during a ‘park ride accident.’ Six Flags and other defendants have denied liability.

Recent investigations have linked the X2 coaster to more than a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalizations spanning nearly two decades. Recorded fatalities include 28-year-old Hilda Farias in 2010 and Christopher Hawley in 2022. Recent July 2026 incidents include 40-year-old Pamela Guillén, who suffered brain compression and a subdural hematoma, and 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, who remains in a critical coma after losing consciousness following the ride. Neurosurgeons involved in the care of these riders have attributed the injuries to “traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration events” caused by the ride's 4th-dimensional design. The coaster originally opened in 2002 as X before being redesigned as X2 in 2007.

A CNN investigation has highlighted this pattern of neurological trauma. While Six Flags maintains that the ride’s physical forces are insufficient to cause such injuries, the family of Christopher Hawley recently reached a settlement with Six Flags and a train supplier regarding his death.

Entities

Six Flags Magic Mountain · Christopher Hawley · Naomi Greer-Wilkinson · Valencia · Six Flags Entertainment Corporation

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

Timeline

  1. 1 day ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 18 sources
    Six Flags X2 roller coaster linked to multiple brain injuries and two deaths

    Six Flags Magic Mountain has closed its X2 roller coaster following two recent brain injury cases. An investigation links the ride to over a dozen serious injuries and two deaths since 2002.

  2. 5 days ago

    [CRIME] 3 sources
    Six Flags Magic Mountain sued over fatal X2 roller coaster incident

    The family of Christopher Hawley is suing Six Flags Magic Mountain, alleging the X2 roller coaster's defective design caused fatal blunt head trauma in 2022.

  3. 15 days ago

    [CULTURE] 6 sources
    Six Flags Magic Mountain X2 coaster remains closed after rider injury

    The X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain remains closed following an incident where a rider was found unconscious on July 5. Cal/OSHA is currently investigating the matter.

Sources

7news.com.au · arynews.tv · astig.ph · brobible.com · gamereactor.eu · gamereactor.fi · gamereactor.nl · gamereactor.se · habbaspilaw.com · ibtimes.co.uk · ibtimes.com.au · internewscast.com · medicaldaily.com · oliverwillis.com · ortadogugazetesi.com · rmf24.pl · stheadline.com · thelocalreport.in · thenightly.com.au · vesti.bg

This summary has been updated 3 times: see revision history