Minnesota Twin Sentenced for Fatal Amish Buggy Crash Cover‑Up

A Minnesota woman accused of trying to convince her twin sister to take the blame for a deadly 2023 Amish buggy crash has been sentenced to four years in state prison. Samantha Peterson, 36, was handed the sentence by Minnesota District Court Judge Jeremy Clinefelter, who also ordered her to pay nearly $40,000 in restitution for the deaths of two young girls.

Peterson pleaded guilty in July to criminal vehicular homicide under the influence and criminal vehicular operation, as confirmed by CBS Minnesota. The judge ruled that her two sentences — four years and two years — will run concurrently. Prosecutors said she was high on methamphetamine on September 25, 2023, when she rear‑ended a horse‑drawn buggy near Spring Valley, a rural town about 115 miles south of Minneapolis. Two sisters, ages 7 and 11, were killed, and two other children were injured.

Twin deception and the investigation that followed

According to investigators, Samantha called her identical twin sister, Sarah Peterson, to the crash scene and the two conspired for Sarah to falsely claim responsibility before deputies arrived. Authorities grew suspicious after analyzing location data, phone records, and statements from Samantha’s employer, which placed her behind the wheel. “We started to determine that, in fact, Samantha was the sister that was coming from Rochester driving southbound at the time of the crash,” Fillmore County Sheriff John DeGeorge said at a 2024 press conference, according to MPR News.

Sheriff DeGeorge noted that roads like Fillmore County Road 1, where the crash occurred, are shared by motor vehicles and Amish buggies. “Drivers have a responsibility to slow down and stay alert. There’s an Amish community that depends on those roads,” he said. Investigators determined the impact was severe enough to throw the buggy several yards, leaving debris scattered across the roadside.

Courtroom remorse and sentencing

Ahead of her sentencing, Samantha Peterson addressed the victims’ family in court, as reported by Star Tribune. “I wish with everything in me that I could go back and change what happened,” she said tearfully. “My addiction took a lot from me, but it took the world from you.”

Her attorney, Carson Heefner, described the outcome as “a fair sentence in the grand scheme of things.” Sarah Peterson, who initially claimed to be the driver, was charged earlier this year for aiding in the cover‑up and has already served her sentence, according to KSTP News.

The case has drawn statewide attention, both for the tragedy’s impact on Minnesota’s Amish community and for the unusual attempt to manipulate the investigation. With sentencing complete, prosecutors say the focus now turns to enforcing accountability and supporting the surviving victims of the crash.