Six Flags brain injury leaves two women hospitalized

Two women needed emergency brain surgery after riding X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain in July 2026, CNN reported. The alarmingly similar six flags brain injury cases — severe hemorrhages within days of each other — prompted the coaster’s closure while families and doctors question the 4D ride’s safety record.

Key Takeaways

• Pamela Guillen, 40, and Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, suffered severe brain hemorrhages after riding X2 less than a week apart in July 2026.
• Neurosurgeons said the injuries stemmed from traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration forces on the ride.
• Six Flags closed X2 on the evening of July 12 and says it remains closed.
• A CNN review links X2 to more than a dozen serious injuries over nearly two decades, including fatal cases.

What happened to the two riders?

Hawaii resident Pamela Guillen, 40, boarded X2 with her daughter for a birthday visit. Ambulance records cited by CNN show she hit her head on the headrest, vomited after the train returned, then lost consciousness on a bench.

Paramedics found her unresponsive. A CT scan showed a severe subdural hematoma and brain compression. The same surgical team that once treated a fatal 2022 X2 case removed part of her skull to relieve pressure. Guillen later described learning to talk and walk again while battling headaches, brain fog, and seizure-prevention medication.

Six days later, Los Angeles resident Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, also lost consciousness after riding X2 and needed emergency brain surgery. Her parents told CNN she remains in a coma on a ventilator and feeding tube more than a month later.

Why does this six flags brain injury pattern matter?

X2 is a rare “4th-dimensional” coaster: seats rotate 360 degrees while trains approach nearly 80 mph. That extreme ride tech is the kind of spectacle covered across Future Tech & AI Wonders, but doctors say the forces can be devastating.

In an email reviewed by CNN, three neurosurgeons who treated both July patients wrote that the severe brain injuries requiring emergency neurosurgery resulted from a traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration event on X2.

CNN’s investigation found X2 linked to more than a dozen serious injuries and hospitalizations over nearly two decades, including riders who fell into comas and two who died. Among them was 22-year-old Christopher Hawley, who collapsed after riding X2 in June 2022 and died of blunt head trauma the next day; his family’s lawsuit against Six Flags recently settled, according to CNN.

What is Six Flags saying about X2 now?

Park officials have not publicly explained why X2 stayed open after the first July injury. Six Flags declined detailed questions and said only that “the ride remains closed at this time.” California’s ride-safety agency told CNN an inspection remains ongoing.

In past litigation, park attorneys have argued warning signs disclose inherent risks and that ride forces are not strong enough to cause traumatic brain injury for a “normal” rider using X2 as instructed. Families of both July riders say Six Flags has not meaningfully followed up beyond early offers of food at the hospital.

Greer-Wilkinson’s father, Joshua Wilkinson, told CNN whoever kept X2 operational “has a lot to answer for,” adding: “It’s got to stop.”