Six Flags shuts down X2 rollercoaster after hundreds allege brain injuries

Six Flags Magic Mountain, an amusement park in California, has announced it will permanently close a popular rollercoaster after hundreds of riders alleged they suffered brain injuries.

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 said the ride had passed a range of safety tests, but that it had decided to retire it because it was "the right thing to do".

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 said the decision had come "too late" for its clients.

Announcing the closure on Tuesday, Six Flags Magic Mountain Park President Brian Oerding said: "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, said it had been contacted by hundreds of people who alleged they had injuries they believed were caused by the ride.

"They got on X2 expecting a thrill. Instead, they left with catastrophic brain injuries," the firm said in a statement. "Some needed emergency brain surgery. Some are still fighting to get their lives back."

The law firm said that while it welcomed 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 later for repairs to design flaws, the Los Angeles Times reports. It was then closed again in 2007 to replace its trains with lighter versions.

It reopened the following year as X2 and since then has been ridden by more than 16 million people, the park said.

A law firm that represented the family of 22-year-old Christopher Hawley, who died after riding X2 in 2022, said 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 said in a statement to the BBC.

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

"That tragedy cannot be undone," Wisner said, 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 added. "We hope that whatever replaces the X2 is safe."