More Than 100 Riders Allege Brain Injuries From Six Flags’ Extreme X2 Coaster, Leading to Multiple Lawsuits
Three people are suing Six Flags over alleged catastrophic brain injuries they say followed rides on one of Magic Mountain’s most extreme roller coasters.
Their cases may be only the beginning.
Dordick Law Corporation, which filed the three lawsuits, says more than 100 additional clients have retained the firm alleging traumatic brain injuries of varying severity after riding X2. The firm says more lawsuits are expected.
The allegations arrive after CNN independently documented more than a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalizations involving X2 over nearly two decades, including the death of a 22-year-old rider. The coaster has not operated since July.
X2 is not designed to feel ordinary. Six Flags describes a ride with seats that rotate 360 degrees while passengers move through dives, flips and two unusual “raven turns.” The park’s coaster guide says riders plunge 200 feet and reach speeds of up to 76 mph.
Six Days Apart
Pamela Guillen went to Magic Mountain on July 5 to celebrate her daughter Camille Marquez’s 16th birthday.
According to one of the lawsuits, Guillen repeatedly struck her head against the headrest while riding X2. When the train returned to the station, Marquez saw her mother sitting with a vacant expression and initially thought she was joking.
She quickly realized something was wrong.
Guillen was confused and unstable after the ride and was taken to a hospital, where surgeons operated to relieve pressure on her brain. She remained unconscious for two weeks, according to NBC News’ review of the lawsuit.
X2 continued operating.
Six days later, 25-year-old Naomi Greer-Wilkinson rode the coaster with her siblings.
She also collapsed after getting off.
CNN reported that Guillen and Greer-Wilkinson were taken to the same hospital during the same week with similar brain hemorrhages. Both required emergency brain surgery. Doctors treating the women attributed their severe injuries to a traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration event experienced while riding X2, according to CNN.
Greer-Wilkinson remains severely disabled, according to the newly filed lawsuit. NBC reported that court papers describe her as bedridden and barely conscious after undergoing multiple operations.
A Third Case
The third plaintiff, attorney Michael Wilk, says his problems began after riding X2 on Feb. 7.
His lawsuit alleges his head slammed against the seat’s headrest during the ride. Wilk felt ill immediately afterward, but the extent of the injury became clearer over the following weeks.
His co-workers noticed that he was struggling and urged him to see a doctor. An MRI revealed extensive bleeding and swelling in his brain, according to the suit.
Wilk underwent two operations to relieve the pressure.
The lawsuit says he can no longer practice law and continues to experience headaches, dizziness, confusion, memory problems and personality changes.
More Come Forward
The three filed cases are different from the much larger number now surrounding X2.
Dordick Law says it has been retained by more than 100 additional people who allege traumatic brain injuries after riding the coaster. Those are client allegations, not 100 independently established injuries or 100 completed lawsuits.
The firm said the injuries are of varying severity and that additional complaints will be filed over the coming weeks. Its attorneys also said more than 300 people contacted the firm with complaints involving X2, though it did not accept every potential case.
That wave followed an earlier investigation into X2’s safety record.
CNN reported in August that it found more than a dozen riders who suffered serious injuries and hospitalizations associated with the coaster over nearly two decades. Its reporting included previous litigation and the 2022 death of Christopher Hawley.
A coroner determined Hawley died from blunt head trauma suffered in a park ride accident, CNN reported. His family later brought a wrongful-death lawsuit that was settled before trial. Six Flags and ride manufacturer S&S Worldwide denied liability, according to Dordick Law.
The Ride Stops
The new lawsuits name Six Flags and S&S Worldwide among the defendants and seek unspecified damages.
The plaintiffs allege problems with X2’s design and contend Six Flags continued operating the coaster despite earlier injuries.
Six Flags has disputed allegations that the ride is unsafe. CNN reported that previous company court filings said X2 underwent daily inspections and that a rider seated normally and using the ride as instructed should not suffer a traumatic brain injury.
Six Flags told other outlets that it does not comment on pending litigation. S&S Worldwide did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment.
X2 has been closed since July 12.
The ride remains listed on Six Flags’ website, where the park tells prospective riders that its rotating seats, drops and flips will leave them “spun into another dimension.”
