Two women suffered brain hemorrhages after riding a hugely popular extreme roller coaster in California, according to a report. The X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia draws visitors from all over the globe. On the amusement park’s website, the ride is described as capable of reaching speeds of up to 76 mph and as having 360° rotating seats, as well as the potential to leave “even the most hardened thrill seeker screaming.” However, 40-year-old Pamela Guillen told CNN that she was left with a severe subdural hematoma and brain compression after hitting her head multiple times on the headrest after riding it in early July. When Guillen disembarked from the roller coaster, she began vomiting and eventually lost consciousness, before being taken to the hospital. Medical records obtained by the network revealed that surgeons removed part of her skull to relieve pressure on her brain. The 40-year-old woke up two weeks later, only able to say one word at a time. “You go in as yourself, and then when you come back, you’re a medical emergency.
Like I still can’t wrap my head around that,” Guillen told CNN. That means the seats can rotate 360 degrees independently of the ride’s chassis. The ride was the final roller coaster to be designed and built by Arrow Dynamics, debuting as X in 2002. The attraction later underwent a major redesign and reopened as X2 in 2008.
Six days after Guillen was injured, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, lost consciousness after riding the roller coaster and was taken to the hospital to undergo brain surgery. Her parents told CNN that she remains in a coma and is in critical condition, requiring both a ventilator and a feeding tube to survive. “This is the hardest thing a human being could go through,” Artemis Greer told the network. A review of medical records by CNN showed dozens of injuries and hospitalizations associated with the ride.
Two individuals even died from their injuries, while others suffered life-altering disabilities. Attorneys representing the family of 22-year-old Christopher Hawley told KTLA this week that a settlement with Six Flags Magic Mountain and S&S Worldwide Inc. was reached following the man’s death days after riding the roller coaster in 2022. Hawley, a recent graduate, had suffered a catastrophic right subdural hematoma, the family’s wrongful death lawsuit alleged. Previously, attorneys for Six Flags have defended it in court by arguing that forces experienced by riders are not strong enough to create a traumatic brain injury for those who use it as “instructed,” according to court records obtained by CNN. Six Flags lawyers have argued in court, after being sued by X2 riders or their families, that a sign warns passengers of “inherent risks in the participation in or on any amusement ride or attraction”. A spokesperson for the park told CNN that the ride was closed on July 12, but did not share further details.
The Independent has contacted Six Flags Magic Mountain and S&S Worldwide Inc for comment. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
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