Six Flags Magic Mountain closed X2 roller coaster after brain injuries and deaths linked to the ride
Six Flags Magic Mountain shut down its X2 roller coaster on July 12, 2026, after two riders suffered brain hemorrhages within the same week. A CNN investigation linked the ride to more than a dozen serious injuries, at least one coma, and two deaths since it opened in 2002. Six Flags has not said whether X2 will reopen.
11
Divergence score
3 outlets covered it, splitting into 3 framing camps across 2 bias groups.
3 camps
2 bias groups
Market signalBETA
The spectrum · how 3 outlets placed this story
LeftCenterRight
Daily Wire
CNN
NY Post
Supportive of action
Neutral
Dismissive
Critical
Alarmist
International angle
Widest split · the two outlets furthest apart, and who published first
Furthest apart on this story
Daily Wire
Terrifying 'Fourth-Dimension' Roller Coaster Led To Brain Surgery, Coma, And Death
sensationalized danger and rider testimonials · negative
CNN
Watch: Riders rushed into emergency brain surgery after braving this world-famous Six Flags rollercoaster
investigative exposé on injury pattern · negative
First to report
- Daily Wirefirst
- CNN+6 min
- NY Post+3.8 h
By each outlet's earliest publish time in this story. Feeds that index slowly can appear later than they printed.
The split, in one line
Daily Wire and NY Post amplify the terrifying death and coma angle while CNN leads with investigation uncovers years of reported brain injuries, but all three relay the same core facts from CNN's reporting.
How each outlet covered it
Lightly covered so far
Too few outlets to map a left-right split. Here is each take as it stands.
Sparse coverage · 3 outlets
“Watch: Riders rushed into emergency brain surgery after braving this world-famous Six Flags rollercoaster”
“Terrifying 'Fourth-Dimension' Roller Coaster Led To Brain Surgery, Coma, And Death”
“Deadly Six Flags rollercoaster finally closed after latest victims needed emergency brain surgery: report”
7 tracked claims across 3 outlets
Fact ledger
All7Claimed5Corroborated2
1/3
Claimed
Two riders died after riding X2: Christopher Hawley in 2022 and Hilda Farias approximately 12 years earlier.
Corroborated
Disputed
6 more tracked claimsSign up free to see the full ledger