Overview
- Magic Mountain and train supplier S&S Worldwide reached a settlement with the family of Christopher Hawley on August 27 and the scheduled September trial was withdrawn, with financial terms not made public.
- X2 has been closed since July 12 after two riders suffered similar brain hemorrhages within days of each other, one requiring emergency skull surgery and the other remaining in a coma.
- Three treating neurosurgeons told reporters they believe the July injuries were caused by a rapid acceleration and deceleration event on the ride that can produce the same internal brain damage seen in high-speed collisions.
- A CNN review and court records link X2 to more than a dozen serious injuries and at least 70 head or neck complaints in recent years, and the coaster’s history includes a 2010 death and the 2022 death of Hawley, both previously the subject of lawsuits.
- State regulators with Cal/OSHA are conducting an active inspection of X2, and its findings will shape whether the ride reopens, requires redesign or triggers wider changes in industry oversight while families and injured riders continue to await answers.