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Six Flags Magic Mountain, a famous theme park in California, has permanently closed its flagship roller coaster X2 following a series of lawsuits over severe brain injuries and deaths.
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The park said the ride, which had operated for nearly 20 years and carried more than 16 million passengers, consistently passed safety tests, but it decided to close it due to concerns over passenger safety and reliability.
X2, which opened as X in 2002 and was relaunched as X2 in 2008 after modifications, featured seats that spun 360 degrees independently while the train dived and flipped at speeds of up to 76mph. It was billed as one of the world's first "four-dimensional" coasters.
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The ride stopped operating on July 12. About a week earlier, two women lost consciousness after riding and were taken to the same Santa Clarita emergency room. A 25-year-old woman was diagnosed with severe brain haemorrhage and remains in a deep coma, while a 40-year-old woman required brain surgery and had to relearn how to walk and speak.
Law firm Dordick Law Corporation has filed three lawsuits against Six Flags Entertainment and manufacturer S&S Worldwide. One plaintiff, Los Angeles lawyer Michael Wilk, said he suffered severe brain haemorrhage after riding X2 in February and can no longer practise law due to permanent cognitive and language impairment.
The firm said about 400 people have contacted it since a CNN investigation, with more than 100 reporting brain injuries after riding X2 in the past two years. At least three deaths have been linked to the ride, according to reports.
The most prominent case involved 22-year-old Christopher Hawley, who died in 2022 after riding X2. His family sued, and Six Flags settled the wrongful death case in August. His mother, Anne Hawley, said: "We have tried for four years to do the best we can to spread awareness. They finally listened."
Park president Brian Oerding said closing the ride was "the right thing to do."
