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.
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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.
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.
