Six Flags permanently retires X2 roller coaster amid rider injury claims

Six Flags Magic Mountain announced on Tuesday, September 29, that it is permanently retiring the X2 roller coaster at its park in Valencia, California. The decision follows months in which the ride was closed and riders alleged serious injuries. Park president Brian Oerding said X2 had passed safety tests, but that the company took concerns about guest confidence seriously.

X2 had been closed since mid-July. Its permanent retirement comes after three new civil lawsuits alleging traumatic brain injuries were filed the previous week, according to The Associated Press. Those claims remain allegations; the closure announcement did not establish that the ride caused the reported injuries.

Why Six Flags says it closed X2

Oerding said in the park’s announcement that X2 had ‘consistently passed a multitude of safety tests’. Nevertheless, he said, ‘we have decided to close the ride because we believe it’s the right thing to do’. He added that ride safety was central to the business and that the park took it seriously when guest confidence was affected. The Guardian reproduced his statement, and AP reported the announcement.

The decision ends the run of one of Magic Mountain’s distinctive attractions. AP reports that the coaster opened as X in 2002 and returned as X2 in 2008 with new trains and effects. Oerding said more than 16 million guests had ridden X2 since that 2008 reopening. The ride reached speeds of up to 76 mph, or about 122 kph, with seats that rotated independently of the track.

What the recent injury lawsuits allege

CNN reported that doctors treating Guillen and Greer-Wilkinson attributed their severe brain injuries to a rapid acceleration and deceleration event on the ride. That account describes the doctors’ assessment, not a court finding. In CNN’s interview, Guillen described continuing headaches and fatigue after her injury. The Guardian reported on September 29 that Greer-Wilkinson remained hospitalized in a semi-conscious state, citing her lawyers.

Lawyer Gary Dordick said his firm had been retained by more than 100 people claiming brain injuries from X2 over the preceding two years, according to AP. That is the firm’s account of clients and their claims, not an independently verified count of injuries caused by the coaster. CNN separately reported in August that its review found more than a dozen riders with serious injuries and hospitalizations over nearly two decades.

The three new lawsuits named Six Flags and S&S Worldwide, the manufacturer of the coaster cars, AP reported. The claimants’ attorneys allege the ride was defective and that riders were not adequately warned about head and brain injury risks, according to The Guardian. AP said a Six Flags spokesperson declined to comment on pending litigation. CNN reported that, in earlier court filings, the company said X2 was inspected daily and that a rider using it as instructed would not sustain traumatic brain injury.

What an earlier death case established

The closure also follows a wrongful-death case involving Christopher Hawley, who died the day after riding X2 in 2022. AP reported that Six Flags settled the family’s lawsuit shortly before a trial scheduled for late August 2026. CNN said a coroner’s report described Hawley’s death as blunt head trauma during a park ride accident. The settlement and that description do not amount to a judicial finding that X2 caused his death.

Evidence discussed in that case pointed in different directions. AP reported that the family’s lawyers challenged the protection provided by the headrest and raised concerns about wheel wear and ride forces. The agency also reported an engineer’s court-filed view that X2’s acceleration forces met amusement-ride standards. A California occupational-safety employee testified that the state inspected the ride’s restraints and head padding and had allowed it to reopen after 2022 testing based on force data supplied by Six Flags, according to AP.

The retirement settles X2’s operating future, but the reported lawsuits leave the injury allegations unresolved. The available reporting does not establish a court finding that the coaster caused the recent brain injuries. The park’s announcement, as reported by AP and The Guardian, did not set out a dismantling timetable or a plan for the ride’s site.