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The biggest appeal of riding a roller coaster is the rush that comes with experiencing some wild sensations in what is supposed to be a safe environment. However, the family of a man who died after riding one at a Six Flags in California has filed a lawsuit in the wake of his death.
The first ride that meets the definition of what most people would consider a roller coaster—cars attached to a track designed to get your adrenaline flowing—debuted in Paris all the way back in 1817, but that wooden contraption doesn’t have a ton in common with the metal behemoths that currently corner that particular market.
Amusement parks have spent more than a century attempting to engineer roller coasters that are capable of raising the bar when it comes to providing the kinds of thrills they can offer their patrons, and Six Flags eventually emerged as one of the most influential innovators on that particular front.
Six Flags is currently working on what will be the tallest and fastest roller coaster in existence when it tentatively opens for business this year thanks to the Falcons Flight at its park in Saudi Arabia, which rises 640 feet into the air, features a 519-foot drop, and reaches a maximum speed of 155.3 MPH.
That’s far from the only boundary-pushing roller coaster you can find at a Six Flags, and its Magic Mountain location features 20 different variations—including X2, which was marketed as the world’s first 4D coaster when it reopened in 2008 after a redesign.
According to The Orange County Register, X2 is now at the center of a lawsuit filed by the family of Christopher Hawley, a 22-year-old who’d graduated from San Diego State shortly before he rode it during a trip to Magic Mountain last summer.
The filing asserts Hawley was nearing the end of the ride on June 23, 2024 when X2 “suddenly, abruptly and violently jolted to a halt” and had trouble walking when he exited while complaining of a headache. He subsequently lost consciousness before he was taken to a nearby hospital where a CT scan determined he’d suffered “catastrophic brain trauma,” and he passed away the following day.
An attorney representing Hawley’s family asserted X2 has also been linked to “whiplash, head and leg injuries, and more from the ride’s sudden shuddering and jolts” and said he believes Six Flags should be forced to fork over at least $10 million ahead of a trial that’s currently scheduled to get underway in October.
Content shared from brobible.com.