Two Women Suffer ‘Life-Threatening’ Injuries While Riding Famous Six Flags Roller Coaster

Two women suffered devastating brain injuries just days apart after riding one of Six Flags Magic Mountain’s most extreme roller coasters, according to a new investigation.

Both women reportedly suffered brain hemorrhages after riding X2 at the Southern California amusement park and were rushed to hospitals for emergency treatment. The incidents happened within six days of each other in July.

One of the riders, Pamela Guillen, was visiting the park with her family when she boarded X2 as her final ride of the day.

After getting off the coaster, Guillen began vomiting while being escorted away from the ride. She later sat down on a park bench and lost consciousness.

Her daughter, Camille Marquez, said she immediately realized something was terribly wrong.

“Mommy, please wake up,” Marquez recalled saying. “I kept rubbing her thigh and kept shaking her to wake up, and she wouldn’t.”

Guillen was rushed to a hospital and placed on a ventilator.

Doctors discovered she was suffering from a severe subdural hematoma and dangerous pressure on her brain. She was rushed into emergency surgery, with reports saying doctors ultimately had to remove part of her skull because of the swelling.

Guillen said the experience was almost impossible to comprehend.

“You go in as yourself, and then when you come back, you’re a medical emergency,” she said. “Like I still can’t wrap my head around that.”

She added, “There’s a difference between being jerked around and brain damage.”

Guillen said she is now trying to focus on her recovery one day at a time.

“I’m taking it a day at a time to not overwhelm myself and to not go into a dark hole of mourning who I was and what I was able to do before this,” she said.

Then, just six days later, another woman, Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, reportedly lost consciousness after riding X2.

She was also rushed to a hospital and underwent emergency brain surgery. According to reports Thursday, she remained in critical condition.

The back-to-back emergencies have put renewed scrutiny on X2, a high-intensity coaster known for seats that rotate independently as riders plunge through the course.

The attraction has previously been connected to numerous reports of serious injuries, including head and neck injuries, disabilities and comas.

At least two deaths have also been linked to riders who suffered injuries after riding X2.

In 2022, 22-year-old Christopher Hawley suffered fatal head trauma after riding the coaster. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner ruled his death an accident and listed blunt head trauma from a “park ride accident” as the cause. His family later sued Six Flags. A settlement in that case was announced Aug. 27.

Another rider, Hilda Farias, died following a ride on X2 in 2010, although reports indicated that additional medical factors were involved in her death.

X2 has also generated dozens of complaints involving alleged head and neck injuries over the years.

The coaster was shut down on July 12, and California safety officials opened an investigation into an incident involving the ride. Contrary to earlier reports that the coaster remained operational, X2 has been closed for more than a month.

Six Flags has long promoted X2 as one of its most extreme attractions.

The coaster reaches speeds of up to 76 mph and features rotating seats designed to flip riders independently of the track.

In a promotional video, Six Flags once declared that “there is nothing ordinary about X2.”

For the two women now recovering from catastrophic brain injuries, however, what was supposed to be a day of thrills turned into a medical nightmare.