World-famous Six Flags rollercoaster shut down after being linked to two deaths and serious injuries

A rollercoaster at the Six Flags Magic Mountain theme park in California has been shut down for over a month after it was linked to two serious brain injuries within days of each other, according to a CNN investigation.

The investigation looked into alleged incidents on the popular X2 rollercoaster, a favourite among adrenaline junkies which boasts speeds of 76mph and seats that rotate a full 360 degrees, according to the company's website.

A spokesperson for the park confirmed to The Guardian that the ride has been shut since 12 July, though they did not comment on CNN's investigation.

The investigation by CNN purports to have found a history of people who had injuries after riding X2 at the theme park over the last 20 years, as well as two people who had tragically died.

More recently, two women were admitted on separate occasions to hospital, where they were treated for very similar brain injuries just days apart, allegedly linked to the ride.

Pamela Guillen from Hawaii says she had ridden the rollercoaster in July, and had banged her head against the headrest as the ride had lurched around.

Pamela claims to have lost consciousness during the ride, and was taken to hospital. There, a CT scan revealed a severe subdural hematoma and brain compression, according to CNN.

Passengers on the X2 roller coaster (Patrick T. Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

She says she woke up in hospital two weeks after being admitted, with around 20 staples in her scalp and a shaved head, and no clue what had happened.

Since the incident, Pamela says that she takes medicine to prevent seizures, and has headaches, telling 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.”

The second alleged incident involved Naomi Greer-Wilkinson from Los Angeles, who is said to have ridden the X2 just days later, and also lost consciousness.

Naomi was taken to hospital, where she was treated for a traumatic brain injury, and is still in a coma at the time of writing, according to the investigation.

Her mother Artemis Greer told CNN: “Naomi should have never ever in a million years even had the option to get on that ride."

In the past, Six Flags has faced legal challenges relating to X2, including settling a lawsuit on 27 August.

The CNN investigation looked at the X2 rollercoaster (Mathew Imaging/WireImage)

This wrongful death lawsuit was related to the death of Christopher Hawley, who was just 22 years old when he died.

Christopher had died in 2022 from a brain injury which was allegedly linked to riding X2. Six Flags has denied the allegation that Christopher's death was linked to the rollercoaster.

Speaking to the Orange County Register in 2026, Christopher's father William Hawley said: “We want to make sure that that ride isn’t going to kill somebody else."

CNN's investigation reported that the surgeon who treated Christopher's injuries likened them to 'shaken baby syndrome', with a coroner's report saying that a medical examiner found his death had been the result of blunt head trauma from 'a park ride accident'.

The precise terms of the settlement which was reached have not been shared.

LADbible has approached Six Flags for comment.