A lawsuit alleges that a woman who boarded the notorious X2 rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain suffered catastrophic brain damage and has spent months dependent on a ventilator.
Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, reportedly collapsed after riding the California attraction in July. She has since remained in a coma with a severe traumatic brain injury, according to the legal claim.
More than 100 people have reportedly contacted Dordick Law, saying they experienced serious brain injuries after riding the X2 in recent months. The firm has filed multiple lawsuits against Six Flags.
At a press conference this week, attorney Gary Dordick alleged that Six Flags Magic Mountain has been aware of potential dangers linked to the ride for years. The claims involve thrill-seekers who say they suffered brain injuries after riding the attraction.
Greer-Wilkinson’s parents said their daughter “still hasn’t come home” months after the July incident. They said she is unable to breathe independently and continues to require a ventilator.
Just six days before Greer-Wilkinson was allegedly injured, California mother Pamela Guillen said she suffered severe brain damage on the same ride while visiting Six Flags to celebrate her daughter’s 16th birthday.
Guillen told ABC7 that the X2 was meant to be the family’s last ride of the day. However, after leaving the attraction, she said she felt confused and disoriented.
Her next recollection was waking up in a hospital nearly two weeks later. Relatives told her she had collapsed and undergone emergency surgery to treat bleeding in her brain.
Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, reportedly collapsed after riding the X2 rollercoaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in July
Months after riding the notorious rollercoaster, the 25-year-old remains hospitalized and dependent on a ventilator
The X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, has been closed since July 12. The ride reaches speeds of nearly 80 miles per hour while rotating its seats through 360 degrees
“I remember seeing the fear in my daughter’s eyes and how scared she was,” Guillen said.
“I had suffered a traumatic brain injury and needed emergency brain surgery to stop the bleeding. I also had to be intubated. I was in a coma and spent almost a month in the hospital.”
Her daughter, Camille Marquez, recalled the moment the family saw Guillen after getting off the ride: “We got off the cart and we saw my mom. She looked lifeless. There was no thought behind her eyes, nothing.”
“She had a brain bleed. My mom had a really bad brain bleed.”
An ambulance took Guillen from Six Flags to a hospital, where surgeons saved her life by removing part of her skull to ease pressure on her brain, CNN reported. During her recovery, she had to relearn how to walk and speak.
Guillen said she continues to experience “headaches every day” and becomes exhausted after completing simple tasks.
“Sometimes I just feel really down because I am not me anymore,” she told the broadcaster.
Guillen has since been able to return home, but Greer-Wilkinson’s family said the 25-year-old remains in hospital on a ventilator.
Pamela Guillen, 40, reportedly suffered severe brain hemorrhages after riding the X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Her daughter, Camille Marquez, told CNN: “We got off the cart and we saw my mom. She looked lifeless. There was no thought behind her eyes, nothing.”
There are only three X2 roller coasters in the world. One in Valencia, California, one in China and another in Japan
Her father, Joshua Wilkinson, told CNN: ‘The jarring had damaged part of her brain and it had begun to bleed.’
Doctors were able to save her life with an emergency brain surgery.
Her mother, Artemis Greer, said: ‘I do remember one of the surgeons storming through the ER and yelling: “How many is it this month? They’ve got to shut that ride down!” He was furious.’
‘Naomi should have never, ever in a million years, even had the option to get on that ride. It’s absolutely insane,’ she said.
The X2 is known for hitting speeds of nearly 80 miles an hour while flipping seats 360 degrees as it makes its way around the track, and it is billed as the world’s first fourth-dimension rollercoaster.
It is widely regarded as one of the most intense roller coasters in the world, and there are only two more of its kind, in China and in Japan.
Another plaintiff, attorney Michael Wick, says he rode the X2 on a family day out, but claims his injuries were so severe he is now unable to practice law because of his disability.
Wick says he underwent two brain surgeries after riding the X2, as he joined a growing number of thrill-seekers who were allegedly injured by the rollercoaster.
Dordick said at a press conference that he plans to file additional lawsuits against Magic Mountain, accusing the attraction of ‘thinking it’s ok that if people voluntarily choose to ride a roller coaster, then they’ve assumed the risk.’
‘They don’t assume a risk of death or catastrophic brain damage for some family fun,’ Dordick said.
Following Dordick’s announcement of lawsuits, Six Flags said in a statement to ABC7: ‘The ride remains closed at this time. It has been closed since the evening of July 12. It is our policy not to comment on pending litigation.’
The X2 speeds up to nearly 80 miles an hour while flipping rider seats 360 degrees around the track
Christopher Hawley (center), 22, died after riding the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Mountain Magic with his brother and cousin in 2022
The X2 ride has been linked to more than a dozen reports of injuries and hospitalizations in the past two decades, according to medical reports seen by CNN.
A 22-year-old college graduate, Christopher Hawley, died about ten hours after getting off the ride with his brother and cousin in 2022, the outlet said.
A coroner’s report found he suffered blunt head trauma during a ‘park ride accident,’ CNN reported.
His father, William Hawley, told Fox 11 that a surgeon said the X2 ‘hit his head so hard that it had basically ruptured his brain.’
Attorneys for Hawley’s parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against park operator Magic Mountain LLC and replacement coaster train supplier S&S Worldwide Inc.
Last month, the Hawley family reached a settlement with Magic Mountain LLC and an accord with S&S, the terms of which remain undisclosed.
