Investigation Reveals World-Famous Rollercoaster May Cause Brain Injuries and Lifelong Disabilities for Riders

A WORLD-FAMOUS rollercoaster dubbed a “rite of passage for the ultimate daredevil” has been linked to brain injuries, comas and deaths, a probe has found.

The terrifying X2 at Magic Mountain in Southern California has left riders with traumatic brain injuries, according to doctors who treated two women injured within days of each other.

Both suffered severe brain haemorrhages in July after riding the 76mph monster, CNN reported.

One of the women, Pamela Guillen, suffered a severe subdural haematoma and brain compression after repeatedly smashing her head against the ride’s headrest.

The 40-year-old lost consciousness and was placed on a ventilator in the back of an ambulance as surgeons fought to save her.

Doctors were forced to remove part of her skull to relieve pressure on her swelling brain.

Guillen said after regaining consciousness two weeks later: “You go in as yourself, and then when you come back, you’re a medical emergency.

“I still can’t wrap my head around that.”

The brutal injury left her having to relearn how to walk and talk, while she now relies on medication to prevent seizures.

She told CNN: “I’m very lucky to be alive.

“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.”

Just days later, woman Naomi Greer-Wilkinson climbed aboard the same attraction.

She remains in a coma, hooked up to a ventilator and feeding tube after suffering a traumatic brain injury.

Her devastated parents were told by doctors that she was in a critical condition and should prepare for the worst.

Her mother said: “This is the hardest thing a human being could go through.”

Six Flags shut X2 on July 12, almost a day after Greer-Wilkinson’s injury.

Yet the park has not explained why the ride initially remained open after Guillen was rushed to hospital.

Three neurosurgeons who treated the women gave a damning assessment of what happened.

They said: “In our professional opinion, the severe brain injuries requiring emergent neurosurgical attention were the result of a traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration event experienced while on the X2 ride.”

The ride’s stomach-churning design sees seats spin 360 degrees independently of the track as the train plunges down steep drops at speeds of nearly 80mph.

Promoted as a “[rite] of passage for the ultimate daredevil”, X2 is one of just three four-dimensional rollercoasters in the world.

A CNN investigation found the attraction has been linked to more than a dozen serious injuries and hospitalisations over nearly two decades.

Court files also reveal a grim trail of life-altering disabilities, comas and two deaths allegedly connected to the ride.

Christopher Hawley died in June 2022 after riding X2, with doctors finding his brain so swollen it began bulging through an opening in his skull.

His surgeon compared the devastating injury to “shaken baby syndrome”, while a medical examiner ruled that blunt head trauma from “a park ride accident” caused his death.

Another rider, 28-year-old mother Hilda Farias, died after riding the attraction in 2010, with experts suspecting a ruptured brain abnormality.

Despite the dark track record, the ride has continued operating after years of complaints about head and neck injuries, according to court records.

Lyndia Wu, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of British Columbia who has researched rollercoasters and the brain, said: “I personally don’t think head injury should be an expected risk from going on a roller coaster ride, and there is no reason a ride can’t be properly designed to prevent injuries like this.”

Six Flags has defended X2 in court, arguing that warning signs alert passengers to “inherent risks in the participation in or on any amusement ride or attraction”.

Lawyers have also claimed the attraction is regularly tested and is not powerful enough to cause a traumatic brain injury when a “normal” rider uses it “as instructed”.

But the three neurosurgeons who treated the two latest victims directly disputed that defence.

California’s Division of Occupational Safety and , which oversees amusement park rides, said an inspection of X2 remains ongoing.

Six Flags declined to answer detailed questions about the latest injuries or why the ride stayed open after Guillen’s hospitalisation.

A park spokesman said simply: “The ride remains closed at this time.”

The ride’s manufacturer, Arrow Dynamics, went bankrupt more than two decades ago, leaving the notorious attraction at the centre of an increasingly disturbing safety probe.