Six Flags Magic Mountain is being sued for wrongful death by the family of a 22-year-old California man who passed away after riding one of the park’s violent roller coasters.
On June 23, 2022, 22-year-old Christopher Hawley visited Six Flags Magic Mountain with his brother and cousin and rode the X2 roller coaster, one of the park’s most famous thrill rides.
The case, which was filed on March 18 in Los Angeles County Superior Court, claims that Hawley sat alone in a row in front of his brother and cousin.
The tram carrying the lads and the other passengers “suddenly, abruptly, and violently jolted to a halt” as the ride came to an end. According to reports, before he “slumped” to the ground and passed out, Hawley claimed that his head hurt.
Both of the boys who went with Hawley on the ride allegedly saw him “walking haltingly down the off-ramp, holding onto the handrail for support,” according to the lawsuit.
Paramedics hurried to his aid when he passed out while still in the park. Hawley was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital after being evaluated in a medical tent on the grounds.
According to the lawsuit, Hawley’s “extremely rough” ride “jerked its riders around like rag dolls,” causing a CT scan of his head to show “a catastrophic right subdural haematoma.”
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According to the lawsuit, Hawley’s prognosis was “poor” during his treatment, and “he continued to progress towards brain death.” The following day, Hawley, a recent college graduate, passed away from his wounds.
According to the coroner’s report, Hawley died from “head trauma” during a “park ride accident,” and the injury was described as a “shearing injury” to the brain.
Using terms like “a trailblazing, fifth-dimension roller coaster” with a “utterly innovative design” that “will keep your mind in full thrust the entire time,” Magic Mountain’s marketing for the X2 roller coaster allegedly celebrated its extreme nature.
Additionally, there are “head-first, face-down drops” on the rollercoaster that will “spin you into another dimension.”
Although it is officially a “fourth dimension” roller coaster, this sensation is caused by seats that rotate 360 degrees vertically during the ride.
The X2’s predecessor, X, was the world’s first four-dimensional roller coaster, but because of its operation, it too experienced multiple delays and shutdowns.
The lawsuit claims that even after it was redesigned and made its debut as the X2, passengers continued to report injuries.
The attraction was “regularly and continuously criticised by X2 passengers, Six Flags Magic Mountain patrons, and Six Flags Magic Mountain employees alike for being dangerous and causing bodily harm to its passengers,” according to the lawsuit in addition.
Hawley and the other three boys were all securely fastened in their seats, according to the lawsuit, but the park failed to adequately warn that the ride may result in “serious, catastrophic, or fatal head or brain injuries.”
Magic Mountain is being sued by Hawley’s parents for wrongful death. This is not the first time that riding X2 has resulted in a major injury, according to a news release from their lawyer, Ari Friedman of the Wisner Baum legal company.
The abrupt shuddering and jolts of X2 have been connected to past occurrences in which riders had whiplash, head and leg injuries, and other problems.
