Twin sister of driver in fatal Amish buggy crash charged for trying to take responsibility

John Molseed, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Feb. 7—PRESTON, Minn. — The twin sister of a woman accused of killing two Amish children in a crash while driving under the influence faces charges for lying to investigators.

Sarah Beth Petersen, 35, of Spring Valley, faces 16 felony charges relating to aiding an offender and taking responsibility for criminal acts. The charges were filed in Fillmore County District Court on Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024.

Wilma Miller, 7, and Irma Miller, 11, were killed Sept. 25, 2023 when a driver of a 2005 Toyota 4Runner SUV struck the buggy they were riding in on Fillmore County Highway 1 near Racine, Minnesota. Their siblings, 9-year-old Alan Miller and 13-year-old Rose Miller, were also injured and a horse was also killed in the crash.

Initially, Sarah Petersen was identified as the driver of the SUV. However, an investigation that included text messages and a conversation Sarah Petersen had with her sister Samantha Jo Petersen, 35, led investigators to believe Samantha Jo was driving the SUV at the time of the crash.

Samantha Jo Petersen, 35, is facing 21 total charges

including eight felony counts of criminal vehicular homicide, eight counts of felony criminal vehicular operation, two gross misdemeanor counts of driving while impaired, and misdemeanor counts of failing to provide proof of insurance and careless driving.

Eight of the felony charges against Sarah Beth Petersen are aiding and abetting an offender — her sister Samantha Jo Petersen — and eight are for taking responsibility for criminal acts, also felonies. Each charge carries up to five years in prison.

According to the complaint filed against Sarah Beth Petersen:

Witnesses who first arrived at the crash told a captain with the Fillmore County Sheriff's Office that they saw a woman they presumed involved in the crash on the scene on a phone. Later, another woman appeared at the scene who looked similar to the first woman, but wearing different clothes.

As Sarah sat in the squad car, the car's audio recording equipment picked up a conversation between the sisters. The two discussed how law enforcement could not tell them apart.

"There's no way they would ever know the difference between the two of us so they can't tell," Sarah could be heard saying.

In a search of Samantha's phone, investigators found text messages from Samantha to friends including one where Sam wrote: "Made Sarah come and take the fall for it so I wouldn't go to prison."

Samantha had also used her phone to search "What happens if you get in an accident with an Amish buggy and kill two people," "how to lock an iphone cops have," and "if you hit a buggy and kill two people are you going to prison?"

Sarah's first appearance on the charges is scheduled for April 1.