More than 100 people now say they suffered traumatic brain injuries after riding X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Southern California, according to attorneys who announced a wave of planned lawsuits after a CNN investigation examined a history of serious injuries linked to the roller coaster.
CNN correspondent Kyung Lah reported that three lawsuits have already been filed and roughly 100 more are expected, with attorneys saying they were contacted by more than 300 people who claimed they were injured after riding X2.
The allegations range from concussions to severe brain bleeds, with some riders requiring emergency surgery and at least one saying the injuries ended his career.
Six Flags has declined to comment on the pending litigation and says X2 is currently closed.
More Than 100 Riders Say They Suffered Brain Injuries
Lah spoke with Michael Wilk, a Los Angeles attorney who says he suffered a massive brain bleed after riding X2 in February and later had to give up practicing law.
Wilk said his main reason for coming forward is not the lawsuit itself, but the hope that something changes.
“I truly hope that by coming forward, changes will be made,” he told CNN. “That’s my goal.”
His attorneys said they now represent more than 100 people alleging traumatic brain injuries from X2 over the last two years.
One lawyer said the team was contacted by more than 300 people, but some could not be represented because California’s two-year statute of limitations had already expired, while others did not have qualifying brain injuries or enough medical documentation.
That difference is important because the large number of claims remains a set of allegations, not a finding that X2 caused every reported injury.
Still, the volume of people coming forward has added significant pressure to questions about the ride’s safety.
Two Women Collapsed Days Apart After Riding X2
CNN’s earlier investigation focused heavily on Pamela Guillen and Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, two women who rode X2 six days apart in July and later ended up at the same hospital.
Guillen had gone to Magic Mountain with her daughter Camille to celebrate Camille’s 16th birthday.
She described the experience of going from feeling normal to becoming a medical emergency almost immediately.
“You go in as yourself, and then when you come back, you’re a medical emergency,” Guillen said.
Six days later, then-25-year-old Greer-Wilkinson also rode X2, collapsed after getting off and was taken to the same hospital where Guillen had been treated.
Doctors treating both women concluded that their severe brain injuries were caused by what was described as a “traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration event” experienced during the ride.
Guillen underwent emergency brain surgery and later had to relearn basic functions including walking and talking, while Greer-Wilkinson remained in a coma, according to the report.
Guillen also recalled hearing one surgeon react with alarm after seeing another similar case arrive.
“How many is it this month?” she remembered him saying, before demanding that the ride be shut down.
What Makes X2 Different
X2 is not a conventional roller coaster.
Lah explained that the ride uses seats that rotate independently around the track, spinning riders 360 degrees forward and backward while the train itself moves through steep drops and turns.
The coaster includes a roughly 200-foot plunge and reaches speeds of about 76 mph, while its so-called “raven turns” combine half-loops with sudden drops.
That movement is part of what made X2 famous, but attorneys representing injured riders now argue it is also what makes the ride unusually dangerous.
One attorney said the design creates risks that an ordinary rider would not reasonably expect.
“Time after time, innocent people are coming off the ride with permanent brain damage,” he said.
Six Flags has previously defended X2 in court by arguing that riders are warned about inherent risks and that the forces experienced on the ride are not strong enough to cause traumatic brain injury in a normal rider using it as instructed.
That dispute is likely to become central to the lawsuits.
Wilk Says He Wishes He Had Reported His Injury Earlier
Wilk said his own injury happened months before Guillen and Greer-Wilkinson were hurt.
Standing beside Guillen and Greer-Wilkinson’s parents during the news conference, he said he now regrets not raising the alarm sooner.
“I cannot help feel if I had reported it, maybe, maybe something would have happened,” Wilk said.
He wondered whether Magic Mountain might have taken the issue more seriously and whether later injuries could have been prevented.
That kind of hindsight is painful, but it also speaks to one of the key questions in the lawsuits: what Six Flags knew, when it knew it, and whether the park had enough information to justify shutting the ride down sooner.
The lawsuits allege the park concealed evidence and failed to warn riders about serious risks.
Those claims remain contested.
Ride Is Closed, but Six Flags Has Not Said Why
Lah said CNN repeatedly contacted Six Flags for a response to the new allegations.
The company gave a short answer, saying it would not comment on pending litigation.
Six Flags did confirm that X2 is no longer operating.
The ride has remained closed since Greer-Wilkinson was injured, but the park has not publicly explained what specifically led to the shutdown.
That silence has fueled more scrutiny because the ride had previously returned to operation after earlier incidents.
California regulators are also under pressure.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health oversees amusement ride operations, but attorneys involved in the new cases argue that the state’s oversight systems have not kept pace with newer thrill-ride technology.
Lawyers Say Regulation Has Fallen Behind
Lah noted that X2 represents a more advanced style of roller coaster, where the rider’s seat moves independently from the train and creates a more complex set of forces on the body.
Attorneys argue that regulators are still working with standards designed for older ride technology.
That could become a major part of the broader debate.
Modern roller coasters increasingly rely on rotating seats, unusual orientations and extreme changes in speed and direction to create more intense experiences.
If regulation does not evolve at the same pace, there is a risk that safety rules may not fully account for the forces riders experience.
That does not prove X2 is inherently unsafe, but it helps explain why so many people are asking whether the current system is sufficient.
More Lawsuits Are Expected
Three lawsuits have already been filed against Six Flags, with approximately 100 additional cases expected, according to the attorneys featured in Lah’s report.
The plaintiffs allege brain injuries of varying severity, including concussions, brain bleeds and permanent neurological damage.
Some say they lost careers or basic independence.
Others are still recovering.
The legal cases will have to determine whether the ride caused those injuries and whether Six Flags had enough prior warning to act sooner.
For now, X2 remains closed, the state’s inspection continues, and the number of people claiming they were seriously hurt continues to grow.
Wilk said he hopes the lawsuits lead to changes rather than simply compensation.
That may ultimately be the larger issue facing Six Flags and regulators alike: whether one of the park’s most famous rides exposed passengers to risks they could not reasonably understand before getting on.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
