A woman involved in a tragic accident that claimed the lives of two Amish children has been sentenced to a relatively brief prison term of four years, after initially blaming her twin sister for the incident.
Samantha Jo Petersen, aged 37, admitted to striking an Amish buggy with her SUV, resulting in the deaths of Wilma Miller, 7, and Irma Miller, 11, in southeastern Minnesota.
According to the Minnesota Star Tribune, Petersen is expected to serve approximately two-thirds of her sentence before being released under supervision. Additionally, she is required to pay $40,000 in restitution to the victims’ family to cover medical expenses.
The sentencing followed a confession by her twin, Sarah Beth Peterson, who admitted to misleading authorities about the crash to protect Samantha.
The devastating collision occurred in September 2023, resulting in the deaths of Wilma and Irma, while their older sister Rose, then 13, and brother Allan, then nine, survived their injuries.
At the time of the accident, Samantha was reportedly under the influence, prompting the twins’ decision to falsely claim Sarah was driving in an effort to potentially lessen the legal consequences, according to prosecutors.
Sarah Beth Petersen (left), an identical twin who covered for her sister by lying about driving a car that killed two Amish children, has been sentenced to three months in jail
Wilma, 7, (second from right) and Irma, 11 (right) were killed in the collision in September 2023 which also injured their brother Allan, 9, (back left) and older sister Rose, 13 (not pictured)
Samantha Petersen (pictured) hit a horse drawn buggy on a road outside the small town of Spring Valley on September 25 2023 while under the influence of meth
When the cops arrived at the scene, both sisters were present along with two vehicles both in Samantha’s name including the silver SUV which struck the kids.
Sarah was then unwittingly caught on a deputy’s pocket recorder openly bragging about the plot as she sat in the back of the squad car.
‘I think one of the guys is onto me, but I don’t really care,’ she was recorded as saying, according to the charges obtained by the Star Tribune.
‘There’s no way they would ever know the difference between the two of us, so they can’t tell.’
Investigators said Samantha’s silver SUV was travelling at up to 71mph in a 55mph zone when it slammed into the children.
A blood test revealed she had methamphetamine, amphetamine and THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, in her system.
According to County Attorney Brett Corson, during her sentencing Samantha ‘did a very good job of admitting what she did and saying she was sorry for what happened.’
‘She said she wanted to make a number of changes in her life and attend [substance abuse] treatment,’ Corson added.
Both sisters have a colorful rap sheet, including two DWI convictions for Samantha, one for alcohol and one for a controlled substance.
Sarah was convicted in January 2022 on a federal charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and is currently on parole.
Sarah Petersen (pictured) agreed to confess to the accident to save her sister potential prison time
One witness also told police he saw one blonde woman at the crash site, then shortly later another woman who liked similar arrive, and embrace the first woman
While Sarah was in prison on the drug charge, Samantha cared for her two children, a potential motive for Sarah offering to cover for her in return, according to the criminal complaint.
It is also not the first time the twins have attempted to change places to evade law enforcement.
Sarah was convicted of giving law-enforcement her sister’s name in 2017 and giving a false name earlier that same year, according to court records.
Samantha was convicted of giving a false name in 2007.
