Teen Dies Days After Legs Severed at Birthday Party

Australia's Adrian Simon may have been asleep on tracks
By Shelley Hazen,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 30, 2014 8:08 AM CST
Teen Dies Days After Legs Severed at Birthday Party
Police say the train was moving slowly because it was about to stop and change drivers. (AP Photo/Mike Eckel)   (AP)

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.)

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