Woman admits she was driving, not her twin, when she hit Amish buggy and killed two kids

A 37-year-old woman has admitted that she — not her twin sister — was driving when her SUV struck an Amish buggy in southeastern Minnesota nearly two years ago and killed two of the four children aboard.

Samantha Jo Petersen of Wabasha, Minn., agreed Friday in Fillmore County District Court to plead guilty to one count each of criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation in connection with the crash shortly before 8:30 a.m. Sept. 25, 2023, along southbound County Road 1.

The defense said in the plea agreement that it will argue for Petersen to serve one year in jail and then 5⅔ years on probation.

Prosecutors said in the plea filing that they will ask for a four-year prison term, with roughly two-thirds of the time spent in prison and the balance on supervised release.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 29.

Peterson’s twin, Sarah Beth Petersen of Kellogg, Minn., pleaded guilty in March to two counts of criminal vehicular operation and received four years of supervised probation.

She also was given a 90-day term, including 60 days in jail and the balance on supervised release.

The four children were riding to school, with Rose holding the reins, a family friend said.

According to the charges against the Peterson twins and related court documents:

Sarah Peterson told a deputy at the scene that she was driving the silver SUV involved in the crash. The vehicle was registered to her sister.

Parked nearby was a black 2002 Toyota 4Runner, also registered to Samantha Petersen. While Sarah Petersen was left alone in a squad car, Samantha Petersen walked over, and the two spoke.

A deputy’s pocket recorder captured Sarah Petersen saying, “I think one of the guys is onto me, but I don’t really care. ... There’s no way they would ever know the difference between the two of us, so they can’t tell.”

Samantha Petersen left work at a Hy-Vee in Rochester shortly before 8 a.m. on the day of the crash in the silver SUV. Internet mapping measures the southbound route to the crash scene as roughly a 24-minute drive. The crash occurred at 8:25 a.m.

Hy-Vee staff told law enforcement that Samantha Petersen admitted on a work messaging platform that she had used methamphetamine and was high at the time of the collision.

“The messages also indicate that [Samantha Petersen] was the driver,” a court filing disclosed.

A Minnesota State Patrol investigation found that the silver SUV was traveling between 61 and 71 mph in a 55-mph zone at the time of the collision.

Samantha Petersen’s criminal history in Minnesota includes two convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and one for giving false information to police.