Theme Park Report
A CNN investigation has examined years of reported brain injuries and hospitalizations involving X2, the rotating-seat roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California.
According to the investigation, a review of medical records, depositions and legal filings identified more than a dozen serious injuries associated with the attraction over nearly two decades. The cases include riders who reportedly suffered lasting disabilities, entered comas or died. Internal park records cited in court filings also documented scores of complaints involving head and neck injuries, according to an expert witness for a plaintiff.
The investigation focused in part on two women who were treated at a Southern California hospital in July after riding X2. Surgeons who treated them said in an email reviewed by CNN that the women’s severe brain injuries were caused by a rapid acceleration-deceleration event experienced on the ride. Both suffered brain hemorrhages requiring emergency neurosurgical treatment, according to the report.
Six Flags closed X2 on the evening of July 12, nearly a full day after the latest reported injury. A company spokesperson said the attraction remained closed but declined to answer CNN’s detailed questions, including why it continued operating after the first July incident. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health, which oversees amusement-ride operations, said an inspection was still ongoing and did not explain how the ride had been deemed safe to reopen after earlier incidents.
X2 is a fourth-dimensional roller coaster whose seats rotate 360 degrees as trains travel at speeds of nearly 80 miles per hour for approximately two minutes. It originally opened as X in January 2002 after construction delays and was redesigned as X2 in 2007 before reopening the following year. The ride’s manufacturer, Arrow Dynamics, entered bankruptcy after miscalculating construction costs, according to a trade publication cited by CNN.
The report describes several lawsuits involving riders and their families. Selena O’Neill, who was 17 when she rode X2 in 2014, was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma after experiencing vision, balance and seizure symptoms. Sheila Katerelos reported a traumatic brain injury and multiple subdural hematomas after riding in 2020, while Lucy Alvarez was diagnosed with a traumatic subdural hematoma in 2021 and continues to experience reported memory, balance and migraine issues. Her attorney said a trial is scheduled for October 2027.
Christopher Hawley, 22, died in 2022 after reportedly suffering severe brain bleeding following a ride on X2. Court records state that a medical examiner attributed his death to blunt head trauma from a park ride accident. An expert hired by Hawley’s family said Six Flags records showed at least 70 prior head and neck injury complaints in the three years before his death.
In legal filings, Six Flags has defended X2 by pointing to warnings about the inherent risks of amusement rides and arguing that the ride’s forces should not cause traumatic brain injury to a normal rider using it as instructed. The company has also said the attraction is regularly tested.
