A day at Six Flags Magic Mountain is supposed to end with photos, souvenirs, and stories about the rides not emergency brain surgery. But in July 2026, two women who rode the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia were rushed to a Southern California hospital within days of each other with severe brain injuries. The incidents have renewed questions about the safety of one of the park’s best-known attractions and what responsibility amusement parks have when a ride allegedly causes catastrophic injury. X2 has remained closed since July 12 while an inspection is ongoing, according to reporting by CNN and The Guardian.
For families dealing with a traumatic brain injury, determining what happened is only part of the problem. Establishing whether a ride operator, manufacturer, maintenance contractor, or another party may be legally responsible can require medical evidence, engineering analysis, maintenance records, prior incident reports, and other information that may not initially be available to an injured rider.
What Happened on the X2 Roller Coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain?
X2 is one of Six Flags Magic Mountain’s most extreme rides, reaching nearly 80 mph while its seats rotate 360 degrees independently of the track.
In July 2026, two women reportedly suffered severe brain injuries within days of riding X2. Hawaii resident Pamela Guillen lost consciousness after the ride and was diagnosed with a severe subdural hematoma and brain compression that required emergency surgery. Six days later, 25-year-old Los Angeles resident Naomi Greer-Wilkinson was also rushed into emergency brain surgery after riding X2 and was later reported to be in a coma.
Doctors who treated the women told CNN they believed the injuries resulted from a rapid acceleration-deceleration event experienced on the ride.
Six Flags has not accepted responsibility and has previously maintained that X2 is regularly tested and that its forces are not sufficient to cause traumatic brain injury to a rider using the attraction as instructed.
X2 Has Faced Previous Reports of Serious Head Injuries
The July incidents were not the first reported brain injuries connected to X2. CNN found more than a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalizations involving the ride over nearly two decades, including several riders diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries or subdural hematomas.
In 2022, 22-year-old Christopher Hawley died after riding X2. According to court records reviewed by CNN, the medical examiner attributed his death to blunt head trauma from a park ride accident. His family’s wrongful death lawsuit against Six Flags was settled in August 2026, with the terms remaining confidential.
CNN also reported that an expert retained by Hawley’s family identified at least 70 prior head and neck injury complaints involving X2 during the three years before his death.
The repeated reports raise broader questions about how amusement parks respond when riders report similar serious injuries—and when a ride should be further investigated, modified, or removed from operation.
How Can a Roller Coaster Cause a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury does not always require an object to penetrate the skull or even a direct blow to the head. Rapid acceleration, deceleration, rotation, or violent movement can cause the brain to move inside the skull. Depending on the forces involved, this can damage brain tissue or blood vessels and potentially cause bleeding. That distinction matters in cases involving high-speed amusement rides.
CNN reported that the doctors treating the two July riders believed their injuries resulted from rapid acceleration and deceleration on X2. The investigation also cited experts who noted that real-world factors such as head movement, seating position, and contact between a rider’s head and the seat may not always be captured by standardized testing. Potential symptoms of a brain injury can include:
- headaches
- dizziness
- nausea
- vomiting
- confusion
- memory problems
- changes in vision
- difficulty speaking or walking
- seizures
- loss of consciousness
- or unusual behavior
Symptoms following a high-speed ride should not automatically be dismissed as ordinary dizziness or motion sickness, particularly when they are severe, worsening, or accompanied by neurological changes.
Are Six Flags and Other California Amusement Parks Liable for Rider Injuries?
An injury occurring on an amusement ride does not automatically establish negligence. California amusement park injury cases generally require evidence showing that a defendant owed the injured person a duty of care, breached that duty, and caused the resulting injuries.
Depending on what an investigation uncovers, potentially responsible parties could include a:
- Theme park or ride operator
- Ride manufacturer or designer
- Component manufacturer
- Maintenance company
- Inspection or servicing contractor
- Other company responsible for the ride’s operation or safety
The specific facts matter enormously. For example, evidence showing repeated reports of similar injuries could become relevant to whether a company knew or should have known about a potentially dangerous condition and whether additional investigation, warnings, repairs, modifications, or closure were warranted.
That does not mean the reported X2 incidents establish Six Flags’ liability. The company has contested allegations made against it in prior litigation, and the circumstances of each case must be independently evaluated.
Does a Roller Coaster Warning Prevent an Injury Claim?
Not necessarily. Six Flags has argued in previous X2 litigation that riders are warned that amusement attractions carry inherent risks. But accepting the ordinary risks associated with a roller coaster is not necessarily the same as accepting every possible injury regardless of its cause.
A major question in an amusement park injury case can therefore become whether the injury resulted from a risk inherent to the activity or from something that could have been prevented through reasonable design, inspection, maintenance, operation, or warning. This distinction becomes especially important when there is evidence of previous similar incidents.
Evidence Can Become Critical After an Amusement Park Brain Injury
Theme park injury cases can involve evidence that an ordinary visitor would never have access to on their own.
A Los Angeles brain injury lawyer investigating a serious amusement ride injury may seek evidence such as:
- Ride maintenance and inspection records
- Incident and first-aid reports
- Previous rider complaints
- Surveillance footage
- Employee reports
- Ride operating data
- Manufacturer specifications
- Repair and replacement records
- State inspection documents
- Witness statements
- Medical and ambulance records
- Engineering and biomechanical expert analysis
Preserving that evidence early can be important because rides may be inspected, repaired, altered, or returned to service following an incident.
When Should You Contact a Los Angeles Brain Injury Lawyer?
Serious brain injury cases are rarely straightforward. When an injury occurs at a major amusement park, the injured person may be dealing with a large corporation, insurers, defense lawyers, engineers, medical experts, and evidence controlled by other parties.
At Bojat Law Group, our attorneys represent people suffering serious and catastrophic injuries throughout Los Angeles and Southern California. A Los Angeles brain injury lawyer from our firm can investigate how an injury occurred, identify potentially responsible parties, preserve critical evidence, evaluate available insurance coverage, and pursue compensation when another party’s negligence caused the injury.
If you or a family member suffered a traumatic brain injury at an amusement park or because of another person’s negligence, call Bojat Law Group at (818) 877-4878 for a free consultation.
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