Six Flags announced Tuesday that it will permanently close its most famous roller coaster, about a month after a CNN investigation exposed a long history of life-altering injuries and deaths related to the attraction. Six Flags Magic Mountain president Brian Oerding wrote in a blog post Tuesday that while its X2 coaster has “consistently passed a multitude of safety tests, we have decided to close the attraction because we believe it is the right thing to do.” He added: “Travel safety is the cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence being shaken, we take it seriously.” Allegations that the roller coaster has injured passengers date back more than a decade, but were largely kept secret until CNN’s investigation last month documented more than a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalizations associated with the ride, including at least two deaths. More recently, two women ended up in the same Santa Clarita emergency room with brain injuries after riding the X2 just six days apart in July. The ride was temporarily closed a day after the second woman’s injury. And just last week, attorneys held a high-profile press conference in which they reported that more than 100 new victims have come forward alleging X2-related brain injuries of varying severity, suffered after riding the roller coaster in the past two years alone. X2, the main attraction at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California for nearly two decades, has long attracted roller coaster enthusiasts around the world for its so-called fourth-dimensional quality, with seats that rotate 360 degrees around the track as trains reach speeds of nearly 80 miles per hour for about two minutes. In three lawsuits filed last week, three different riders who suffered life-threatening injuries this year (including Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 26, who remains in a coma) allege that Six Flags officials had sufficient knowledge of the ride’s alleged dangers and should never have allowed it to continue operating. Greer-Wilkinson boarded the ride six days after another woman, Pamela Guillén, lost consciousness when she got off the roller coaster and underwent emergency brain surgery. “This should have been done a long time ago,” Greer-Wilkinson’s parents told CNN. “Six Flags knew years ago that Meanwhile, Guillén is out of the hospital, but previously told CNN how he had to learn to talk and walk again, and said he still struggles with terrible headaches and brain fog and needs medication to prevent seizures. “I’m relieved that X2 is closing for good,” she told CNN on Tuesday. “I should never have been hurt, nor should anyone else who was… I also hope that Six Flags implements better safety and inspection measures at all of its parks and attractions.” The family of Christopher Hawley, 22, who died of a traumatic brain injury hours after riding X2 four years ago, has been fighting for X2 to close for years. The neurosurgeon6 who treated Hawley compared his injuries to those suffered during “shaken baby syndrome,” and the medical examiner ruled that his death was caused by blunt force trauma to the brain due to “an accident in a park,” according to the coroner’s report. The family sued Six Flags and reached a tentative settlement last month. Timothy Loranger, one of the attorneys representing Hawley’s family, told CNN that he has also recently taken on new clients alleging damages caused by the roller coaster, including the family of a young man who attorneys say died after riding X2 in late 2025, the last of at least three deaths allegedly linked to the attraction. “This attraction should have been closed long before our son Christopher was injured, and it certainly should have been closed after his death,” said Hawley’s mother, Anne Hawley. “Instead, it took more than four years and dozens of other injured riders for Six Flags to do the right thing.” Do you have information to share about a Six Flags theme park or attraction? Email us at melanie.hicken@cnn.com or blake.ellis@cnn.com.
