A theme park has closed a high-tech rollercoaster after the ride was linked to deaths and a series of serious injuries.
X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, was advertised as a rite of passage for the ultimate daredevil. But a new investigation suggests its intense twists, drops and rotations may place forces on the human body that some riders cannot withstand.
The attraction was taken out of service on July 12, one day after the second of two catastrophic brain-injury incidents reported within less than a week.
An investigation by CNN found that the cases were the latest in a decades-long series of incidents allegedly involving life-changing disabilities, comas and deaths.
According to the report, Pamela Guillen, 40, from Hawaii, lost consciousness shortly after riding X2 during a family holiday.
She was taken to hospital, where doctors identified brain injuries typically associated with high-speed collisions. She remained in a coma for two weeks.
Only days later, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, of Los Angeles, was hospitalised after riding the same coaster. She remained in a coma at the time of CNN’s report.
A park spokesman told Our News Outlet: ‘The ride remains closed at this time.’
Six Flags Magic Mountain has closed its popular X2 rollercoaster following a report linking the ride to more than a dozen severe injuries
What injuries has the ride caused?
Medical records, depositions and court filings indicate that X2 has been associated with more than a dozen serious injuries and hospital admissions since opening in 2002.
One case involved 17-year-old Selena O’Neil, who rode X2 with friends in 2014.
Soon after leaving the ride, she developed a headache, blurred vision and difficulty walking in a straight line.
Her right leg began shaking whenever she put weight on it and was held at an unusual angle.
Doctors examining the otherwise healthy teenager found that she had suffered a subdural haematoma, in which blood collects on the surface of the brain.
In 2019, doctors described her case in a medical journal without identifying X2 by name, but directly attributed her injuries to acceleration caused by a rollercoaster.
The doctors warned: ‘Advances of rollercoaster technology and industry competition for thrill–seeking patrons may ultimately improve acceleration and performance beyond the passenger’s physical ability to tolerate them.’
Medical experts say the extreme forces generated by the ride can cause brain injuries (pictured) usually associated with high-speed collisions
Court filings submitted by Selena’s family and reviewed by CNN showed that at least five riders had gone to hospital after riding X2 before her injury.
Among them was a 62-year-old man who sued the park in 2009, claiming that the ride had caused him to suffer a traumatic brain injury.
Has anyone died after riding X2?
In 2022, 22-year-old college graduate Christopher Hawley rode X2 with his cousin and brother.
Court records filed later stated that the three relatives were thrown around like ‘rag dolls’ and that Christopher struck his head against his seat several times.
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He complained of feeling light-headed shortly before reaching the exit and was taken to nearby Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital.
Doctors found extensive bleeding in his brain. The pressure forced the brain towards one side of his skull, causing it to bulge when surgeons opened the skull to relieve the swelling.
Christopher had been in excellent health before boarding the ride, but died less than 10 hours later.
Christopher Hawley (centre) died in June 2022, the day after visiting the park and riding X2
The LA County Medical Examiner ruled that Christopher died from blunt head trauma less than 10 hours after riding X2
Earlier, in 2010, 28-year-old single mother Hilda Farias also died after riding X2.
Experts believed an abnormality in her brain may have ruptured under the intense forces generated by the ride.
Why is X2 so dangerous?
The forces experienced on a typical rollercoaster are generally considered to fall within safe limits.
X2’s ‘four-dimensional’ configuration makes the attraction substantially more demanding on the body, however.
Alongside its 76mph (120km/h) top speed and 215ft (65m) drop, the seats rotate separately from the track.
In two manoeuvres called ‘raven turns’, the carriages turn upside down while looping, sending passengers backwards over steep drops.
Only two other rollercoasters worldwide have a similar design, with one located in China and the other in Japan.
Research suggests that forces from most rollercoasters are lower than those produced by football headers, while X2’s unusual design creates a far greater impact
These additional rotations and changes in direction generate extra forces during each turn, potentially accelerating the brain at an extreme rate.
As the brain moves within the skull, it can undergo ‘very rapid deformations in the brain, which can lead to diffuse axonal injury, tissue tears, and vascular disruptions’.
Are rollercoasters safe to ride?
Around 300 million people ride rollercoasters every year, while the overall number of injuries remains relatively low.
Even so, serious injuries and deaths do occur.
A 2005 study recorded 39 rollercoaster-related deaths in the US between 1994 and 2004. Brain haemorrhages or cardiac problems accounted for 15 of them.
A separate 2013 study found that 4,423 children in the US visited emergency departments each year between 1990 and 2010 for injuries ‘resulting from amusement park rides’.
Head and neck injuries were common, often occurring when a child fell from, onto or against a ride.
Studies indicate that the peak velocity a rollercoaster applies to the brain is comparable to sprinting and lower than a header, but unusually intense rides such as X2 require further investigation
Most of these injuries are minor, and deaths generally occur as isolated incidents rather than as part of the repeated pattern associated with X2.
Overall, the annual hospitalisation rate for rollercoaster riders is low, at 1.5 per cent, while the average number of deaths is 4.5 per year.
Research also indicates that the forces produced by a standard rollercoaster are usually not strong enough to cause brain trauma.
A 2017 study found that rollercoaster rides produced less brain strain than mild football headers and generated forces comparable to running.
Professor Lyndia Wu of the University of British Columbia, a co-author of the report, told CNN: ‘I personally don’t think head injury should be an expected risk from going on a rollercoaster ride, and there is no reason a ride can’t be properly designed to prevent injuries like this.’
The researchers nevertheless said that higher-risk attractions, including X2, warrant further investigation.
