Six Flags Closes X2 After Two Serious Incidents in California

The Valencia attraction was shut down July 12 after a woman was hospitalized in a coma. CNN has investigated a series of incidents involving the ride

Six Flags, brain injuries reported after X2 roller coaster rides. Two women reportedly suffered serious neurological injuries after riding the X2 at the Six Flags theme park in Valencia, California, according to a CNN investigation. The attraction was closed on July 12, one day after a serious incident in which a woman was left in a coma. The cases are reportedly the latest in a series of incidents associated with the ride.

The X2 is known for sending riders into steep drops and spinning them along the track for hundreds of meters, reaching speeds of up to 122 km/h, while the seats rotate 360 degrees. The attraction is promoted on the theme park’s website as a “rite of passage for thrill seekers.”

Pamela Guillen’s injuries

In July, Pamela Guillen, 40, a Hawaii resident, boarded the X2 with her daughter. During the ride, she said her head struck the seat’s headrest.

According to CNN, Guillen lost consciousness and was taken to a hospital, where a CT scan revealed a severe subdural hematoma and brain compression.

Guillen said she now suffers from headaches and takes medication to prevent seizures.

“I take it one day at a time so I don’t become overwhelmed and fall into a vortex of mourning for who I was and what I was capable of doing before,” she told CNN.

Another rider remains in a coma

A few days after Guillen’s accident, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, a Los Angeles resident, also rode the X2 and lost consciousness.

She was hospitalized with a head injury and remains in a coma, according to CNN.

Six Flags confirmed that the attraction was closed on July 12, according to a statement from a park spokesperson.

A history of incidents

CNN’s investigation found that the two latest cases are part of a series of incidents associated with the attraction stretching back decades. According to the investigation, those incidents have allegedly resulted in permanent disabilities, comas and deaths.

On Thursday, the company reached an out-of-court settlement in a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the family of Christopher Hawley, who died in 2022 at the age of 22 from a brain injury allegedly linked to the X2, according to KTLA.

The terms of the settlement were not disclosed. Six Flags denied the allegations.

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