A teenager whose legs were severed in a train accident on the NSW mid-north coast during his 18th birthday celebrations has died in hospital, police say. 
 
 The man was taken to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle in a serious condition after he was struck by the freight train in Taree in the early hours of December 21. 
 
 Both of his legs were severed above the knee in the accident, which occurred at a level crossing on Bushland Drive. 
 
 Police from the Manning-Great Lakes local area command confirmed the teenager died in hospital on Christmas Eve, three days after the accident. 
 
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 The teenager, who is understood to have been visiting Taree with his family, had been celebrating his 18th birthday with a group of people on the night he was struck by the train, police said. 
 
 Taree Mayor Paul Hogan said on Tuesday he had only just learnt of the teenager's death. 
 
 "The death of the young lad is very sad, very upsetting," he said. 
 
 Police are still examining how the man came to be on the train tracks at 4.30 on the morning he was struck. 
 
 They are also looking at the actions of a group of people who hurled rocks and verbal abuse at emergency service workers as they arrived to try to help the teenager, who was trapped beneath the train and lapsing in and out of consciousness. 
 
 The train driver, who stopped the train at the scene of the crash and called triple-0, initially appeared to be the target of their attacks, police said, however two police officers were also struck with rocks. 
 
 The driver and officers initially took refuge in the driver's cabin before police reinforcements arrived. 
 
 When paramedics arrived, their ambulance windscreen was smashed and paramedics were "blocked, pushed and verbally abused" during their initial attempts to treat the man, police said. 
 
 Police say criminal charges could be laid against the crowd who targeted the emergency service workers. 
 
 Mr Hogan said that, while the teenager's death was tragic, the actions of the group would not be tolerated. 
 
 "It was a very unfortunate accident that had happened, but it was very upsetting the trouble that was caused with the emergency services. That was definitely unwarranted, and no one will tolerate that," he said. ||||| Teen dies after legs severed by train at Taree during 18th birthday celebrations 
 
 Updated 
 
 A teenager who had his legs severed by a train on the New South Wales mid-north coast four days before Christmas has died. 
 
 Police today said Adrian Simon died at John Hunter Hospital on Christmas Eve, three days after he was hit by a train. 
 
 The 18-year-old was asleep on the tracks at a railway crossing near Taree on December 21, police said. 
 
 He had been celebrating his birthday and was hit by a train about 4:30am (AEDT), severing both his legs. 
 
 The driver managed to stop the train soon after the accident and was taken to hospital for mandatory blood and urine testing. 
 
 Taree Police said they were now preparing a report for the coroner. 
 
 Police are also still investigating the actions of several party-goers who officers alleged tried to block paramedics from treating the teenager. 
 
 They also allegedly threw rocks at police and the train driver. 
 
 Topics: rail, death, taree-2430, newcastle-2300 
 
 First posted
– An Australian teen whose legs were severed by a train while celebrating his 18th birthday died on Christmas Eve in the hospital, three days after the incident, ABC Australia reports. "The death of the young lad is very sad, very upsetting," Paul Hogan, mayor of Taree—where the incident took place in New South Wales—tells the Sydney Morning Herald. Alcohol is believed to have been a factor in Adrian Simon's death. Simon had been in serious condition since the accident on Dec. 21, when he was hit by a train around 4:30am, severing his legs above the knee. Police are still investigating why Simon was on the tracks; ABC reports he was asleep. Police are also investigating a group of partygoers from that night who attacked emergency workers and police as they attempted to tend to Simon; charges may be pending. "It was a very unfortunate accident that had happened, but (the attack) was definitely unwarranted, and no one will tolerate that," Hogan says. (Earlier this year, a California teen died trying to retrieve her phone from train tracks.)