Twin sister charged after trying to take blame in fatal Amish buggy crash

Amish buggy crash, sister cover-up detailed

Prosecutors have charged a woman they say hit an Amish buggy in southeastern Minnesota last fall, killing two children in the process. Why the charges took so long is a twist in the story, and FOX 9’s Maury Glover has the details.

(FOX 9) - A woman accused of attempting to take the fall for her twin sister in a crash that killed two children riding in an Amish buggy is now facing charges.

Sarah Petersen, 35, was charged in Fillmore County on Wednesday with over a dozen felony counts of taking responsibility for criminal acts and aiding an offender after attempting to take the fall for her twin sister, Samantha Petersen.

Meanwhile, prosecutors filed charges against Samantha Petersen on Monday, including multiple counts of criminal vehicular homicide, criminal vehicular operation, driving while under the influence, careless driving, and speeding in connection to the Sept. 25, 2023, crash that killed two children and injured two others.

Charges detail what happened in fatal buggy crash

According to the criminal complaint, at about 8:26 a.m., authorities responded to a crash involving a vehicle and an Amish buggy on County Road 1 in rural Stewartville, Minnesota.

When authorities arrived, they found an SUV with front-end damage parked along the shoulder of the southbound lane. Several people were in the ditch on the west side of County Road 1, just north of the SUV. The Amish buggy and a horse, that appeared to be dead, were also in the west ditch.

Two children, ages 11 and 7, died. A 9-year-old child sustained "great bodily injury", and the 13-year-old child suffered "substantial bodily injury," charges say.

Twin sister attempts to take the fall

Sarah told the deputy she was driving and didn't see the buggy before she hit them, charges said.

A conversation between the sisters was recorded in which they discussed what law enforcement asked them, court documents detail. Sarah can be heard saying, "I think that one of the guys is onto me, but I don't really care," and "There's no way they would ever know the difference between the two of us, so they can't tell."

While Sarah insisted she was the driver in the crash, authorities reviewed Samantha’s cellphone records in which she was talking to someone and allegedly admitted to hitting the buggy and claimed she "made Sarah come there and take the fall for it so I wouldn’t go to prison," charges read.

According to court records, Hy-Vee staff told authorities on the day of the crash, Samantha asked for HR to call her. When HR called, Samantha said, "I f***** up," "I just killed two Amish people; they were kids," "I just hit a f****** buggy and I killed two people," and "I'm not sober." She allegedly admitted to being high on meth, and confirmed she called 911 before calling Sarah, and said she left the scene after her sister arrived, court records allege.

Security footage from Sept. 25, 2023, of the Rochester Hy-Vee parking lot also shows Samantha leaving work at 7:58 a.m. and driving out of the parking lot in a silver SUV at 8:02 a.m. It takes about 25 minutes to drive from the Hy-Vee to where the crash happened, charges said.

Both Sarah and Samantha Petersen were charged via summons, and are currently not in custody. Samantha’s first appearance in court is scheduled for March 25 while Sarah’s is set for April 1.