Extreme Six Flags roller coaster has been closed for over a month while state officials investigate
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
The X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia has been shut down for more than a month while state safety officials continue an investigation involving the attraction.
The ride, first opened in 2002 as X, has been the subject of controversy and at least one high-profile lawsuit stemming from a 22-year-old man’s death. Six Flags bills the ride as “a right of passage for the ultimate daredevil” that goes up to 76 mph.
More recently, Los Angeles County Fire Department officials responded to a call around 9 p.m. on July 5 of a person who was reportedly unconscious and took them to a local hospital. The department was unable to confirm whether the person was in fact unconscious when they arrived at the scene or whether the person lost consciousness on the roller coaster.
The amusement park closed the X2 ride July 12, and it remains closed now, a Six Flags Entertainment Corporation spokesperson said in an email.
Six Flags has had enough of YouTuber Allen Ferrell. The amusement park chain just perma-banned Ferrell after he attempted to eat 10 chicken nuggets on a roller coaster.
The state agency that inspects amusement parks, Cal/OSHA, said it “has opened an inspection into the reported incident involving the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain” that occurred July 5.
“Because the inspection is ongoing, no further details are available at this time,” said Cal/OSHA spokesperson Denisse Gómez in an email.
The X2 ride caused a severe head injury that killed Christopher Hawley in 2022, according to a lawsuit filed by Hawley’s family from Garden Grove.
“The entirety of the X2 ride was extremely rough and jerked its riders around like rag dolls,” according to the complaint. At the end of the trip, “the ride suddenly, abruptly, and violently jolted to a halt, jarring Decedent Christopher Hawley and the other two boys in their seats.”
Six Flags Magic Mountain has previously denied the family’s claims but declined in an email to comment on pending litigation. The suit is scheduled for a jury trial in September.
More to Read
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
In this episode, we bring you the update on how an Altadena resident and her neighborhood are coming along, plus a re-run of the two-part series we did on the Poppyfields people back in June.
The Hillside Strangler murders terrorized Los Angeles in the late 1970s. The killers were a pair of sadistic cousins. One confessed. The other was set to stand trial—until L.A. prosecutors flinched.
Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Lorely Rodriguez –aka Empress Of– indie pop singer, songwriter, and producer, for a conversation about identity, resilience, and her new album Dream House, made while simultaneously rebuilding an actual house in Altadena alongside her mom.
