Six Flags Magic Mountain is permanently closing its X2 roller coaster as the company defends itself against allegations that more than 100 people have suffered brain injuries on the extreme coaster in the last two years, park officials announced Tuesday.
“After almost 20 years, we have decided to permanently retire X2,” park President Brian Oerding said in a social media post Tuesday morning.
“Since X2 opened in 2008, it has welcomed more than 16 million guests and earned a passionate following among ride enthusiasts. We recognize the special place X2 holds in the coaster community, and we are grateful to our team members who operated and maintained it throughout its run.
“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. Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously,” Oerding continued. “Our purpose is to create fun, thrills and a lifetime of memories by creating unforgettable experiences that are underpinned by comprehensive safety policies.”
X2 opened in 2002, but has been closed since July after two women reported serious injuries on the ride.
Pamela Guillen, 40, suffered a severe subdural hematoma and brain compression after riding X2 on July 5, according to a CNN report. Her family said she underwent emergency surgery that required doctors to remove part of her skull.
Six days later, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson of Los Angeles, 25, lost consciousness after riding X2 and underwent emergency brain surgery, CNN reported. She remained in a coma for weeks and still can’t speak or breathe on her own, according to her parents.
X2 was closed following Greer-Wilkinson’s injury.
“The design of this ride makes it inherently dangerous, and makes it dangerous in a way that no reasonable rider would expect,” attorney Christopher Bulone of Dordick Law told reporters recently.
The firm says it has been retained by more than 100 clients who suffered similar injuries on the ride in the last two years and plan legal action.
“Naomi had no idea, when she was going to Magic Mountain with her siblings and her friends, that she was signing up for something that could potentially rip the veins in her skull, cause catastrophic bleeding, and lead to a coma,” he added.
Six Flags says it does not comment on pending litigation.
A separate lawsuit involving X2 is scheduled for trial Aug. 16, 2027. Yucaipa residents Sheila Katerelos, 56, and her husband, Ari, allege she suffered a traumatic brain injury and other medical complications while riding X2 in February 2020.
Magic Mountain and Six Flags were dismissed as defendants in that lawsuit in 2024. The case is continuing against S&S Worldwide Inc., which manufactured and designed X2’s roller coaster vehicles, after a state appeals court reinstated the company as a defendant in February.
Magic Mountain and S&S Worldwide also previously settled with the parents of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old San Diego State University graduate who died in June 2022 after riding X2.