A California family is heading to trial against Six Flags Magic Mountain after their 22-year-old son allegedly suffered fatal brain injuries on the park's X2 roller coaster, a ride now linked to multiple prior injuries and a separate incident that shut it down again this summer.
Christopher Hawley, a recent San Diego State University graduate, rode the X2 attraction at the Los Angeles County theme park on June 23, 2022, with his younger brother Alex. Minutes after stepping off the ride, Hawley appeared visibly unwell. His face turned deep red. Then he collapsed. Emergency responders rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he died the following day.
His death was ruled an accident caused by blunt-force head trauma sustained on the ride. A CT scan revealed extensive intracranial hemorrhage, and a coroner's report attributed the injuries to a "park ride accident," the New York Post reported. The family's wrongful death lawsuit accuses Six Flags, the ride's unnamed manufacturer, and park employees of designing a defective attraction and failing to warn the public about its risks.
Alex Hawley, Christopher's younger brother, rode the X2 that same day. He described the experience to Fox 11 Los Angeles in blunt terms:
"It was very rough. It just jerked us. It just jerked us all around. It just jolted us all the way forward and then our heads just swung all the way back into the headrest."
The X2 features seats that rotate 360 degrees, a 215-foot drop, and speeds reaching 76 miles per hour. Riders are flipped forward, backward, and sideways through a series of inversions. The Hawley family's lawsuit alleges the ride violently jolted to a halt, snapping passengers' heads into the hard restraints behind them.
William Hawley, Christopher's father, relayed what doctors told the family about his son's condition:
"The surgeon had said, he likened it to shaken baby syndrome, that the ride hit his head so hard that it had basically ruptured his brain."
Christopher Hawley was 22 years old. He had just finished college. He went to a theme park with his family, and he never came home.
The Hawley family's attorney, Ari Friedman, told the New York Post that the X2's record of harm extends well beyond this single case.
"This is not the first time someone has sustained a serious injury as a result of riding X2."
The lawsuit seeks $10 million in damages. A jury trial involving Six Flags, the ride's manufacturer, and park employees is scheduled to begin September 8. The specific court and case number have not been publicly disclosed in available reporting.
William Hawley made clear the family's motivation goes beyond money. "We want to make sure that that ride isn't going to kill somebody else," he said.
The Hawley case gained renewed urgency after a separate incident on the same ride. On July 5, 2026, another rider was found unconscious on the X2, according to KTLA. The attraction closed shortly afterward and has remained shut since the evening of July 12, Six Flags confirmed to Fox 11.
"The ride remains closed at this time. It has been closed since the evening of July 12th," Six Flags said in a statement. The park declined to comment directly on the Hawley litigation when contacted by Fox News Digital. The Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner also did not respond to requests for comment.
The identity and condition of the rider found unconscious in July 2026 have not been disclosed. Whether that incident involved the same alleged design defect at the center of the Hawley lawsuit remains unclear.
Several gaps in the public record persist. The manufacturer of the X2, named as a defendant, has not been publicly identified in the reporting. No response from any defendant to the lawsuit's allegations has surfaced. Whether other Hawley family members who rode the attraction that day sustained injuries has not been addressed.
Six Flags Magic Mountain draws millions of visitors a year to its collection of high-speed thrill rides. Families trust that the park has tested, inspected, and maintained every attraction to a standard that keeps riders safe. When a 22-year-old walks onto a roller coaster and dies the next day from injuries a surgeon compared to shaken baby syndrome, that trust demands answers, under oath, in open court.
The Hawley family will get their day before a jury in September. Six Flags owes the public more than a "no comment."
