New York Herald, "The Accident on the Erie Railroad," July 18, 1858

THE ACCIDENT ON THE ERIE RAILROAD. – It will be seen by a despatch elsewhere, that the Coroner’s jury in the railroad accident case at Port Jervis, have rendered a verdict entirely exculpating the railroad company from all blame. They were just two hours coming to a conclusion on the subject, taking the testimony, examining the construction of the rails, and all the other details necessary to arriving at a calm and deliberate opinion as to how and by whose action over fifty of their fellow beings were, in an instant, frightfully mangled and mutilated. They have pronounced the skirts of the company clear of blood – rather a hasty judgment, we think, but after all not without precedent in such cases. Thus we go from one railroad slaughter to another, with a verdict in each case of “no one to blame.” Our hope now is in the courts. Let every injured passenger bring suits against the company for damages sustained, and the public may derive some satisfaction from the result.