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. 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. Police from the Manning-Great Lakes local area command confirmed the teenager died in hospital on Christmas Eve, three days after the accident. Advertisement 
 
 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. 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.
– 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.)