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Six Flags Magic Mountain X2 coaster safety incidents

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2026-08-27 22:03 UTC → 2026-08-28 16:58 UTC · added ~~removed~~

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.

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