In the span of less than a week this July, surgeons at a Southern California hospital raced to save the lives of two women suffering from alarmingly similar brain hemorrhages.
The severe injuries were the kind doctors encounter in patients after high-speed collisions or other violent accidents that cause the brain to twist and slam inside one’s skull.
Neither woman, however, had been involved in a crash, fall or other such incident.
Instead, they had ridden an extreme roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain, known as X2, which draws thrill-seekers from around the world with its rotating seats, near-vertical drops and unpredictable movements. It has long been the park’s marquee attraction — promoted as a “[rite] of passage for the ultimate daredevil.”
But behind the ride’s legendary reputation lies a troubling record of serious injuries, a CNN investigation has found.
X2 has been linked to more than a dozen reports of serious injuries and hospitalizations over nearly two decades, a review of medical records, depositions and legal filings shows. Among the casualties are riders who suffered life-altering disabilities, fell into comas and two who died of their injuries. Park officials, meanwhile, have long fielded scores of complaints about other head and neck injuries sustained after riding the attraction, according to internal records cited by an expert witness for a plaintiff in court filings.
