Michael Foley's death notice was preceded by an observation that the railroad deaths all seemed to come in groups. (Mr. Larmer had died just four days earlier.) If one includes the deaths from other locations, the deaths seemed to occur with regularity, with no sign of any attempt of regulating the work so that it was safer. Michael Foley was just 40 years old, an Irish immigrant in Bloomington. In 1860 a Michael Foley, married to Margaret with a small daughter Catherine is noted in the census.
On March 4, 1875 the report of the lawsuit brought by Ellen Foley for the death of her husband was printed. Ellen alleged that there should have been a watchman on the forward end of the moving train. She further argued that the absence of a signal rope to alert the driver to any approaching danger caused her husband's death. The defense of the railroad was that it was Foley's own gross negligence that caused his death. The McLean County jury awarded Mrs. Foley $2,200 in compensation. The railroad of course moved for a new trial in order to tie up the award in the courts.