The family of Christopher Hawley is still going through a mix of emotions, but there is now a sense of closure with Tuesday’s news that Six Flags Magic Mountain is permanently shutting down the X2 roller coaster.
It was four long years ago that Anne Hawley lost her son, a 22-year-old college graduate from San Diego State University, on what was supposed to be a fun day for him with his younger brother, Alex, and their cousin at the amusement park. The trio went on X2, considered one of the park’s most popular rides.
Opening 18 years ago, it was touted as the world’s first fourth-dimensional roller coaster, and quickly grew popular for its 360-degree rotating seats, intense head-first drops and reaching 76 mph. Over the years, however, there were an increasing number of reported injuries caused by the ride, which had been temporarily closed since mid-July after two separate female riders suffered severe brain hemorrhages (subdural hematomas) within days of each other and had to be rushed to the hospital for emergency brain surgery…