A 22-year-old man died from a traumatic brain injury he suffered from being violently shaken around on a popular Six Flags rollercoaster, according to a lawsuit filed by his family.
Recent San Diego State graduate Christopher Hawley was in “excellent health” when he went to Six Flags Magic Mountain in Los Angeles with his younger brother and a cousin on June 23, 2022 — just to collapse soon after riding the X2 rollercoaster, according to a wrongful death suit seeking $10 million.
“The entirety of the X2 ride was extremely rough and jerked its riders around like rag dolls,” the suit said.
“As X2 approached its conclusion, the ride suddenly, abruptly, and violently jolted to a halt, jarring decedent Christopher Hawley and the other two boys in their seats,” the wrongful death suit alleges.
When Hawley exited the ride, he needed to hold a handrail to stay up — and mumbled to his brother and cousin that his “head hurt,” the suit said.
Moments later he fell to his knees, slumped to his side and lost consciousness, according to the suit.
A park employee called for medical assistance and he was taken to a medical tent at the park before he was rushed to Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital in Valencia, where he died the next day.
A CT scan showed he sustained “extensive intracranial hemorrhage” and the coroner’s report said his death was the result of “head trauma” from a “park ride accident,” the lawsuit says.
X2 bills itself as a “fourth-dimension” coaster, and was designed with rotating seats that rotate 360 degrees independently throughout the ride, which features a 215-foot drop, flips and spins while reaching speeds of up to 76 miles per hour, according to KTLA.
The Hawley family is seeking $10 million in damages pending an investigation into the ride’s structure, according to the Orange County Register.
“We want to make sure that that ride isn’t going to kill somebody else,” Christopher Hawley’s father, William Hawley, told The Register.
“They won’t explain to us what happened. They’ve essentially gone dark. The only way we’ve been able to contact them is through our attorney,” he added.
The X2, which opened in 2002, has been the subject to multiple lawsuits due to its violent nature, the lawsuit claims.
“This is not the first time someone has sustained a serious injury as a result of riding X2,” the Hawley family’s attorney, Ari Friedman said. “X2 has been linked to previous incidents, where people received whiplash, head and leg injuries, and more, from the ride’s sudden shuddering and jolts.”
Six Flags did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.