Six Flags shuts down X2 rollercoaster after hundreds allege brain injuries

BySareen Habeshian Reporting fromLos Angeles.

Key points

• Originally called X, the ride first opened in 2002 but was closed months afterwards for repairs to design flaws, the Los Angeles Times reports.
• The X2 rollercoaster, one of the park's main attractions, with long wait times to ride and seats that spin 360 degrees, has been closed since July.
• Six Flags Magic Mountain, an amusement park in California, has confirmed it will permanently close a popular rollercoaster after hundreds of riders alleged they suffered brain injuries.
• It reopened the after year as X2 and since then has been ridden by more than 16 million residents, the park noted.
• A law firm that represented the family of 22-year-old Christopher Hawley.

Meanwhile, the X2 rollercoaster, one of the park's main attractions, with long wait times to ride and seats that spin 360 degrees, has been closed since July.

Six Flags remarked the ride had passed a range of safety tests, but that it had decided to retire it as it was "the right thing to do".

Meanwhile, the decision comes after lawsuits and news reports alleged that hundreds of riders suffered brain injuries after riding X2. A law firm representing some of the plaintiffs remarked the decision had come "too late" for its clients.

Announcing the closure on Tuesday, external Six Flags Magic Mountain Park President Brian Oerding remarked: "Ride safety is a cornerstone of our business, and when we see guest confidence affected, we take it seriously."

Dordick Law Corporation, who filed civil lawsuits against the park, remarked it had been contacted by hundreds of residents who alleged they had injuries they believed were caused by the ride.

"They obtained on X2 expecting a thrill. Instead, they left with catastrophic brain injuries, " the firm remarked in an official note. "Some needed emergency brain surgery. Some are still fighting to obtain their lives back."

According to The law firm, while it welcomes the closure of the ride to protect future guests, "it does nothing for the people who have already been hurt".

Originally called X, the ride first opened in 2002 but was closed months afterwards for repairs to design flaws, the Los Angeles Times reports. It was then closed again in 2007 to replace its trains with lighter versions.

Notably, a law firm that represented the family of 22-year-old Christopher Hawley. This person died after riding X2 in 2022, remarked the closure was not enough.

While the Hawley family is "relieved to hear that Six Flags is finally closing the X2, it does not change the fact that Christopher Hawley was killed by a dangerous roller coaster that was allowed to operate for nearly two decades, " attorney Brent Wisner of Wisner Baum LLP remarked in an official note to the BBC.

Hawley's family settled a wrongful death suit with the theme park in August.

"That tragedy cannot be undone, " Wisner remarked, calling for legal reform, proactive regulation and proper governmental oversight.

"We cannot rely on profit-centered corporations to do the right thing only after enough people have been hurt, " he continued. "We hope that whatever replaces the X2 is safe."

In short, six Flags shuts down X2 rollercoaster after hundreds allege brain injuries is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.