Woman who blamed twin sister for deadly Amish buggy crash sentenced to 4 years
The Minnesota woman who blamed her twin sister for a drug-related 2023 Amish buggy crash that killed two children learned her fate in court on Thursday.
Samantha Jo Peterson, 37, pleaded guilty to a count each of criminal vehicular homicide and criminal vehicular operation. She was sentenced to four years in Minnesota Correctional Facility-Shakopee and ordered to pay nearly $40,000 in restitution.
This comes nearly seven months after her sister, Sarah Beth Peterson, was sentenced to 90 days in jail and four years of supervised probation in connection to the crash on Sept. 23, 2023, near Stewartville, located about 10 miles south of Rochester.
Court documents state Samantha Peterson was driving while under the influence of methamphetamine when she crashed her SUV into the buggy. Two children, ages 7 and 11, were killed, and two other children, ages 9 and 13, were hurt.
Fillmore County deputies at the scene said Sarah Peterson told them she was behind the wheel at the time of the crash and claimed she was driving her sister's SUV because her own vehicle was getting repaired.
One of the deputies exited their squad with Sarah Peterson inside alone and left a voice recorder running, according to court documents, which captured her telling her sister over the phone, "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."
Court documents state investigators later searched Samantha Peterson's cellphone and discovered a text message, sent on the day of the crash, that read, "I hit that Amish buggy and killed two ppl [sic] … Made Sarah come there and take the fall for it so I wouldn't go to prison."
Her browser history also revealed she had Googled, "What happens if you get in an accident with an Amish buggy and kill two people," and, "If you hit a buggy and kill two people are you going to prison?"
The HR manager of a Rochester grocery store where the sisters worked told investigators Samantha Peterson called less than two hours after the crash and confessed to being behind the wheel and driving high.
The manager told police they believed Sarah Peterson was willing to take the blame because her sister took care of her children when she was previously incarcerated.
Samantha Peterson had previous DWI convictions before the 2023 crash.
NOTE: The attached video aired before Samantha Peterson's sentencing.