College grad reportedly dies in Six Flags roller coaster incident as family sues theme park

A California family reportedly filed a lawsuit accusing Six Flags Magic Mountain of a defective ride design after their 22-year-old son suffered fatal head trauma while riding the the X2 attraction.

The incident happened in summer 2022, when Christopher Hawley, a San Diego State University graduate, visited the Los Angeles County theme park with his family, according to Fox 11 Los Angeles.

Hawley reportedly collapsed shortly after riding the X2 roller coaster and died the following day.

Separately, the X2 roller coaster was involved in another incident on July 5, 2026, when a rider was found unconscious, prompting the attraction to close for more than a month, KTLA reported .

Christopher’s death was ruled an accident caused by blunt-force head trauma sustained from the attraction, which his family described as exceptionally rough, Fox 11 said.

PANIC AT POPULAR THEME PARK AS STRANDED RIDERS SCRAMBLE TO ESCAPE BROKEN ROLLER COASTER His younger brother, Alex, described the ride as intensely violent, saying it jerked passengers around before ending with a jolt that sent their heads slamming into the headrests.

"It was very rough.

It just jerked us.

It just jerked us all around," Alex told the local station.

"It just jolted us all the way forward and then our heads just swung all the way back into the end to the head." After Christopher stepped off the attraction, he reportedly appeared noticeably unwell, with his face turning very red before suddenly collapsing.

Emergency responders rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries the next day, Fox 11 reported.

STARTLING FOOTAGE FROM AMUSEMENT PARK SHOWS THRILL RIDE HALTED AS GUESTS WAIT IN MIDAIR The family said a surgeon compared Hawley's injuries to shaken baby syndrome, a condition in which violent and sudden forces cause the brain to move rapidly within the skull, potentially resulting in swelling, bruising and bleeding.

"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's father, William, told the local station.

Six Flags declined to comment directly on the litigation to Fox News Digital.