Six Flags Magic Mountain retires X2 roller coaster amid brain injury lawsuits

LOS ANGELES — Six Flags Magic Mountain is retiring its celebrated X2 roller coaster amid lawsuits alleging superior encephalon wounded caused by the ride.

The Southern California taxable parkland said Tuesday that it is permanently shuttering the thrust aft astir 20 years. Six Flags precocious settled a wrongful-death suit from the household of a 22-year-old antheral who died aft riding the coaster successful 2022, and 3 much lawsuits alleging traumatic encephalon injuries were filed past week.

“While X2 consistently passed a multitude of information tests, we person decided to adjacent the thrust due to the fact that we judge it’s the close happening to do,” parkland President Brian Oerding said successful an online announcement. “Ride information is simply a cornerstone of our business, and erstwhile we spot impermanent assurance affected, we instrumentality it seriously.”

The thrust has been closed since the evening of July 12, aft 2 women who rode the coaster little than a week isolated some needed to beryllium rushed to the infirmary aft they exited.

One of them, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, collapsed soon aft the thrust ended and was recovered to person monolithic encephalon bleeding wrong the skull that required exigency encephalon surgery. She remains successful a vegetative authorities successful the hospital, incapable to talk oregon determination and babelike connected a ventilator. Her household filed a suit against Six Flags connected her behalf.

Her attorneys said much than 100 radical claimed they suffered encephalon injuries from the roller coaster successful the past 2 years, and much lawsuits would beryllium filed successful the coming weeks.

According to the Six Flags Magic Mountain website, the X2 roller coaster reaches a apical velocity of 76 mph (122 kph) and has a full magnitude of 3,610 feet (1,100 meters). The seats rotate 360 degrees “so your assemblage volition beryllium flipping astir the full time,” and the thrust features 2 “raven turns” — fractional loops that crook into sheer drops midway.

It debuted astatine the parkland successful 2002 nether the sanction X arsenic the world’s archetypal “fourth-dimension” roller coaster and reopened successful 2008 arsenic X2 with caller trains and peculiar effects. The uniqueness of the thrust drew thrill-seekers from astir the satellite and garnered a fervent fanbase.

The parkland settled a wrongful-death suit filed by the household of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old who died the time aft helium rode X2. He was taken to the infirmary aft the thrust with terrible encephalon bleeding. The aesculapian examiner’s bureau said his decease was from blunt caput trauma. The lawsuit was settled astatine the extremity of August, a fewer days earlier the proceedings was scheduled to start.