Rollercoaster at LA’s Six Flags shut after two riders suffered brain injuries, inquiry finds

X2 ride at Magic Mountain has been closed for a month after one rider experienced brain compression and another remains in coma

An infamous Six Flags Magic Mountain rollercoaster, long favored by intrepid theme park goers, has been closed for more than a month after two people say they experienced brain injuries after riding it, according to a new CNN investigation.

The X2 rollercoaster sends riders plummeting and twisting hundreds of feet, reaching up to 76mph (about 122km/h) as the seats rotate 360 degrees. On the southern California theme park’s website , it’s advertised as a rite of passage for daredevils.

But according to CNN’s investigation, two riders reported suffering similar injuries within days of each other.

In July, Pamela Guillen, a Hawaii resident, boarded the rollercoaster, which her daughter had been excited to ride with her. As the X2 jerked Guillen around, she said her head banged against the seat’s headrest.

She lost consciousness, according to CNN, and was transported to a hospital, where a CT scan revealed she had a severe subdural hematoma and brain compression. Now, Guillen says, she deals with headaches and takes medications to prevent seizures.

“I’m taking it a day at a time to not overwhelm myself and to not go into a dark hole of mourning who I was and what I was able to do before this,” she told CNN.

Days after that incident, a Los Angeles resident, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, rode the X2 and also lost consciousness. She was hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury, CNN reported, and remains in a coma.

The rollercoaster has been closed since 12 July, a spokesperson for the park said in a statement. The spokesperson declined to comment on CNN’s reporting.

The California division of occupational safety and health did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s request for comment.

CNN’s investigation found a history over the last two decades of injuries reported by people who had recently ridden the X2, including two people who died. The outlet also focused on shortcomings in the process by which state officials had inspected the ride. The testing data Six Flags handed over to inspectors was informed by safety standards from a committee composed of theme park operators and ride manufacturers, the outlet reported.

Six Flags has also faced litigation related to the X2.

On Thursday, the company settled a wrongful death lawsuit brought by the family of 22-year-old Christopher Hawley, who died in 2022 from a brain injury allegedly linked to the X2, according to KTLA. The terms of the settlement remain undisclosed. Six Flags had denied the allegations.

“We want to make sure that that ride isn’t going to kill somebody else,” William Hawley, Christopher’s father, said to the Orange County Register earlier this year.