Sister pleads guilty to twin-swapping scheme after deadly Amish buggy crash in Minnesota

One of the twins involved successful a deadly Amish buggy crash successful Minnesota has admitted that she tried to dupe instrumentality enforcement into reasoning she was the 1 driving astatine the time, not her identical sister.

The devastating collision unfolded the greeting of Sept. 25, 2023, when an SUV plowed into a horse-drawn buggy connected southbound County Road 1 successful agrarian Stewartville, FOX 9 reported. The buggy was carrying 4 children to schoolhouse astatine the time, including 7-year-old Wilma Miller and 11-year-old Irma Miller, who were some killed successful the crash.

Sarah Beth Peterson was inactive connected the country erstwhile officers arrived astir 8:30 a.m., and she did her champion to person them she’d been down the instrumentality of the SUV, which belonged to her duplicate sister, Samantha Jo Peterson.

According to a transgression ailment obtained by KSTP, the women astatine 1 constituent were caught connected a deputy’s integer recorder, seemingly discussing their efforts to instrumentality police, and their strategy rapidly unraveled from there.

“I deliberation that 1 of the guys is connected to me, but I don’t truly care,” Sarah allegedly said. She aboriginal added determination was “no mode they would ever cognize the difference betwixt the 2 of america truthful they can’t tell,” per the complaint.

Police person since said Samantha was connected her mode location from enactment and that she was precocious connected meth erstwhile the clang occurred. In its aftermath, she besides allegedly utilized her phone to hunt phrases including “What happens if you get successful an mishap with an Amish buggy and termination 2 people,” “how to fastener an iPhone cops have,” and “if you deed a buggy and termination 2 radical are you going to prison?”

What’s more, a witnesser described the operator arsenic wearing a T-shirt Samantha had been wearing.

Her sister, Sarah, connected Tuesday pleaded blameworthy to 2 counts of aiding and abetting transgression vehicular operation. She was initially facing 16 charges — each of them suggesting she tried to conceal oregon instrumentality work for her twin’s transgression acts — but copped to conscionable 2 of them arsenic portion of a plea agreement. In exchange, prosecutors volition urge that she walk nary much 6 than months down bars and get 4 years probation.

The woody does not however, necessitate her to attest against Samantha, who is inactive facing 17 felonies, including transgression vehicular homicide, transgression vehicular operation, driving nether the influence, nonaccomplishment to supply impervious of insurance, careless driving and speeding. She‘a owed successful tribunal connected June 10 for a pretrial league and her proceedings is scheduled to commencement July 14.

Sarah, meanwhile, is owed to beryllium sentenced adjacent month.