Six days before Naomi Greer-Wilkinson suffered a catastrophic brain injury allegedly caused from riding the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California, another visitor was hospitalized after riding the same roller coaster.
Pamela Guillen went to Magic Mountain on July 5 to celebrate her daughter’s 16th birthday. But after riding the X2, she says she collapsed and was taken to the hospital where she underwent emergency surgery for brain bleeding. Guillien was still in a coma when Greer-Wilkinson boarded the X2 on July 11 for what would be a life-altering ride.
And they are not alone.
The Six Flags roller coaster billed as a “rite of passage for the ultimate daredevil” is facing multiple lawsuits over accusation that it caused severe brain injuries and, in at least one case, death.
“These people went to Magic Mountain for some entertainment, or some family fun, and they suffered catastrophic brain damage,” said attorney Gary Dordick, whose law firm filed three lawsuits this week against Six Flags and S&S Worldwide, a manufacturer of the X2 ride.
More than 100 others have come forward in the last two months to report they also suffered brain injuries after riding the X2 in the last two years alone, Dordick said at a news conference Tuesday, announcing his firm plans to file additional lawsuits on their behalf.
The lawsuits accuse the companies of operating a “defectively designed” ride and failing to adequately warn passengers about the risk of serious brain injuries. A spokesperson for Six Flags declined to comment, saying “It is our policy not to comment on pending litigation.”
The X2 opened in January 2002 as the world’s first fourth-dimension roller coaster, featuring 360 degree rotating seats, a 215-foot drop, sudden flips and rotations, and reaches speeds of up to 76 miles per hour. It was plagued with problems over the years and closed several times to undergo redesigns. It’s been closed since July 12, a day after Greer-Wilkinson stumbled off the ride and fell into a coma.
“The design of this ride makes it inherently dangerous, and makes it dangerous in a way that no reasonable rider would expect,” said attorney Christopher Bulone, of Dordick Law. “Naomi had no idea, when she was going to Magic Mountain with her siblings and her friends, that she was signing up for something that could potentially rip the veins in her skull, cause catastrophic bleeding, and lead to a coma.”
Artemis Greer and Joshua Wilkinson say their daughter still can’t breathe on her own. She remains bedridden with minimal consciousness and unable to speak, according to the lawsuit.
“She can’t tell us if she’s in pain, and as a father, that’s extremely difficult,” Josh Wilkinson told NBC News.
Greer and Wilkinson’s lawsuit notes Six Flags knew of Guillen’s injury days earlier and continued to operate X2 without conducting an adequate investigation or warning riders.
Dordick Law
Dordick Law Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, before and after riding the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags
Magic Mountain.
Guillen also said she was not warned about past injuries or the death of 22-year-old Christopher Hawley in 2022. Hawley died one day after his parents say he road the X2. The LA County Coroner ruled his death resulted from “accidental blunt head trauma.” His family reached a confidential settlement with Six Flags last month.
For Guillen, the X2 was the last ride of a day celebrating her daughter’s Sweet Sixteen. After the ride ended, her daughter looked over and found Guillen with a “vacant stare and her mouth open,” according to the complaint. At first, her daughter thought her mother was joking, but she soon realized something was “seriously wrong” when Guillen struggled to exit the ride and collapsed.
“Everything went blank. My next memory is waking up in the hospital about two weeks later. My family had to tell me what had happened,” Guillen said Tuesday during the news conference.
She was taken to the hospital, where doctors determined she had suffered a massive brain hemorrhage and needed emergency surgery, according to the lawsuit. Doctors had to remove part of her skull to stop the bleeding and she was in coma for two weeks. Guillen said she spent a month in the hospital and then two weeks in a rehab center receiving physical, occupational and speech therapy.
Dordick Law
Dordick Law Pamela Guillen, before and after riding the X2 roller coaster
at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
But leaving the hospital didn’t mean her life returned to normal.
“Before July 5th, I worked, I drove, I handled my businesses, and took care of my family. I was independent. Today, I still cannot drive. I haven’t been able to return to work. I’m dealing with cognitive effects of my brain injury,” Guillen said. “Some may look at me today and think that she she looks fine, but they can see what is happening inside my brain and how much every day life has changed.”
The third lawsuit was brought by Michael Wilk, an attorney who rode the X2 on Feb. 7. In the weeks after visiting the theme park with his grandchildren, Wilk’s said his cognitive function began declining and he sought medical care.
An MRI revealed intracranial bleeding and swelling, requiring emergency surgery, according to the lawsuit. Wilk says he has permanent cognitive impairment and is no longer able to practice law as he continues to experience headaches, confusion, dizziness and memory loss.
“Mike Wilk had no idea when he was getting in line for the ride with his grandchildren that he was getting on something dangerous that was going to cost him his career, that was going to lead to him having his skull cut open so that blood could be drained out of his skull,” Bulone said.
Dordick Law
Dordick Law Michael Wilk, before and after riding the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic
Mountain.
Dordick said they’ve heard from hundreds of other riders who alleged to have suffered varying injuries from the X2, however, in most of those cases they are unable to file a lawsuit due to the statute of limitations.
In previous court filings, Six Flags has argued the ride has passed ASTM standards, which test amusement rides for safety and specify criteria for acceleration limits, loads and forces, among other standards.
The lawyers argue that the tests are antiquated and not designed to measure safety of a ride with these kinds of rotational and angular force.
“The problem is, is that Six Flags says they pass these tests, and yet, time after time, innocent people are coming off the ride with permanent brain damage, and they’ve never thought to try to ascertain whether these tests were sufficient,” Bulone said. “They’re clearly not.”
X2 has long been the marquee attraction at Six Flags Magic Mountain, which attracted an estimated 3.317 million visitors in 2024, according to the 2024 TEA Global Experience Index. The park ranked among the 20 most visited amusement and theme parks in North America that year.
Maria Toledo Flores contributed to this report.
