Twin sister accused of lying to investigators after 2023 fatal Amish buggy crash sentenced
Mar. 31—PRESTON, Minn. — The twin sister accused of lying to investigators after a 2023 fatal Amish buggy crash was sentenced to 90 days in jail and 120 days of house arrest.
Sarah Beth Petersen, 36, appeared in the Fillmore County Courthouse for her sentencing hearing on Monday, March 31.
Petersen and her twin sister Samantha Jo Petersen are accused of attempting to switch places after Samantha's vehicle struck a two-wheeled horse-drawn buggy at 8:25 a.m. on Sept. 25, 2023, on Fillmore County Road 1 near the intersection with County Road 102. As a result of the crash, two children and a horse were killed. Two more children were injured.
Sarah Petersen was charged in February 2024 with 16 felony counts, relating to aiding an offender and taking responsibility for criminal acts.
One year later, she pleaded guilty to two felony counts of criminal vehicular operation that caused great bodily harm, both involving her taking responsibility for the criminal acts of another.
"I am truly, deeply sorry to the Millers," Petersen said. "My actions caused further pain to the family who was already heartbroken."
During her sentencing hearing on Monday, March 31, Fillmore County Attorney Brett Corson requested that Petersen would be ordered to serve six months in jail.
A memorandum filed by the state earlier on Monday said both parties agreed that Petersen would serve no prison time.
"Six months is a blessing for the defendant," Corson said to the court.
Corson proceeded to inform the court of Petersen's previous convictions in 2016 and 2017 when she was charged with misrepresenting herself as her sister, Samantha Jo Petersen, when stopped by law enforcement. Due to her repeated history of attempting to deceive law enforcement, Corson argued that she serves 90 days in jail starting on Monday.
A victim services advocate read a statement from the parents of the children who died. Their letter said it hurt them to see "how lightly" Petersen took the incident.
"We've been given a life sentence, and our lives will never be the same," the letter read.
Defense attorney Dan McIntosh argued that the court does not impose any jail time.
Although Petersen deceived law enforcement by claiming she was the driver, McIntosh argued that Petersen was not the one to directly cause harm.
"It was misguided and it was wrong, but she was trying to help out her sister," he said.
McIntosh called Timothy Volz, Petersen's therapist, to the stand. Volz testified that Petersen has been dealing with the "emotional trauma" of the accident and plans to continue seeking treatment, regardless of the sentence.
Petersen then addressed the court, apologizing to the family and law enforcement.
Judge Jeremy Clinefelter accepted her guilty plea and ordered her to begin serving a 90-day jail sentence on April 25. She will also serve 120 days on house arrest and was ordered to pay a $1,500 fine. He dismissed the remaining 14 counts.
"This conduct was not your conduct that caused the tragic events of that day," Clinefelter said.
However, he told her that her lies to law enforcement still deserve consequences. He referenced that in the initial police reports, one of Petersen's children told their teacher what happened at the accident scene.
"Even your kids knew better than you did," Clinefelter said.
A hearing is scheduled for Samantha Jo Petersen on June 9. After Monday's hearing, Corson told the Post Bulletin that talks of a resolution in Samantha Jo Petersen's case is in the works.
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 she 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?"
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