Fatal Amish buggy crash: Twin sister pleads guilty in attempted cover-up
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.
STEWARTVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - A twin who tried to take the blame for her sister after a crash with an Amish buggy killed two children, and injured two more, has entered a guilty plea to charges stemming from her involvement in the attempted cover-up.
Petersen sister's guilty plea
What we know:
Sarah Beth Petersen, 36, of Kellogg, Minnesota, entered a guilty plea to two counts of criminal vehicular operation in Fillmore County on Feb. 4, 2025.
Police say that during their investigation of the fatal crash that occurred on Sept. 25, 2023, Sarah attempted to deceive authorities by saying it was her behind the wheel, and not her sister.
Meanwhile, Samantha Jo Petersen, 35, also from Kellogg, is charged with 21 crimes, including multiple counts of criminal vehicular homicide, criminal vehicular operation, driving while under the influence, careless driving and speeding. She currently has a trial date set for July 14, 2025.
Charges detail fatal buggy crash
The backstory:
According to the criminal complaint, at about 8:26 a.m. on Sept. 25, 2023, authorities responded to a crash involving a vehicle and an Amish buggy on County Road 1 in rural Stewartville. When authorities arrived, they found an SUV with front-end damage parked along the shoulder of the southbound lane of County Road 1, with several people in the ditch just north.
Two children, ages 11 and 7, died as a result of the crash. The Amish buggy and a horse, that appeared to be dead, were also in the west ditch.
A witness described the driver of the SUV that hit the buggy as a blonde woman wearing a Hy-Vee shirt. Witnesses said a second woman, who looked a lot like the driver, was also at the scene but "just sort of appeared."
Both women were already at the scene when authorities arrived — one, later identified as Sarah Beth Petersen, was wearing a black coat and black leggings, while the other, identified as Samantha Jo Petersen, was wearing a red shirt consistent with a Hy-Vee employee uniform before she changed into a black tank top.
Authorities say Sarah Petersen was visibly upset when she told a Fillmore County Sheriff's deputy that she was the driver of the SUV that hit the buggy.
But when a deputy asked her for her ID, she said it was in a black SUV, not the SUV involved in the crash, charges said.
Deputies noted Sarah and Samantha both looked extremely similar.
Attempted cover-up
Dig deeper:
According to charges, Sarah told the deputy she was driving and didn't see the buggy before she hit them, but that the silver SUV involved in the crash belonged to her sister, Samantha.
A conversation between the sisters was recorded, during 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."
Sarah provided a picture of her insurance card, which had been canceled on Sept. 22, 2023, before the crash occurred. Deputies then seized her phone as evidence.
A red T-shirt and black smock worn by Hy-Vee employees were also found in the vehicle.
Text messages reveal plot
Timeline:
Text messages between the two ultimately revealed to investigators who was behind the wheel at the time the crash occurred.
During their investigation, a district store manager and human resources manager (HR) told authorities that both Sarah and Samantha worked for Hy-Vee.
Samantha messaged them on Sept. 25, 2023, saying she messed up and was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the crash, charges said. The district store manager told investigators they believed Sarah would take the fall for Samantha because Samantha took care of Sarah's children while Sarah was in prison, and now she feels like she needs to help Samantha.
HR told investigators Samantha punched out of work at 7:47 a.m. on Sept. 25, 2023, and around 10 a.m. that day, she texted HR asking to call her.
When 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 admitted to being high on meth, and confirmed she called 911 before she called Sarah, and said she left the scene after Sarah arrived.
HR later provided the text messages from Samantha admitting what she did.
Security footage from Sept. 25, 2023, of the parking lot of the Rochester Hy-Vee shows Samantha leaving the store at 7:58 a.m. and leaving 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.
Deputies reviewed 911 calls from the crash, and a call matching Samantha's number came in at 8:25 a.m.
Search warrant execution, continued investigation
Dig deeper:
Investigators executed a search warrant at Samantha's home on Sept. 26, 2023. Sarah answered the door and said Samantha had moved to Stewartville.
During the search, deputies found Samantha inside the home, who turned her phone over to investigators and provided a blood sample, per the search warrant. The results of the blood sample came back on Oct. 3, 2023, which showed the presence of methamphetamine, amphetamine and Delta-9 THC.
A school social worker, on Sept. 27, 2023, spoke with Sarah's 13-year-old daughter, who said, "My mom wasn't the one that was driving," and she drove to the scene of the crash after the crash, charges state.
A review of cell phone records shows Samantha's phone was at Hy-Vee at 5 a.m. on Sept. 25, 2023, she was near the Rochester airport at 8:11 a.m. and was at the intersection of Highway 30 and County Road 1 at 8:20 a.m. before her cell phone was at the scene of the crash at 8:23 a.m.
Investigators reviewed searches on Samantha's phone and found she looked up, "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?" among similar searches.
A crash reconstruction found the driver of the silver SUV was traveling between 63-71 mph at the time it occurred, despite the speed limit on the road being 55 mph.
The view on the road was clear for 1,452 feet before the crash scene, and there were no obstructions.
The Source: Previous FOX 9 reporting and court documents filed in Fillmore County.