Woman Comes Clean About Alleged Twin Swap After Amish Buggy Crash That Killed 2 Children

Sarah Beth Petersen (above top) has now pleaded guilty to two felony counts of criminal vehicular operation in a yearslong case alongside her twin sister Samantha Jo Petersen (above bottom), both 35. But those pleas both relate to what happened after the accident.

"I did, I lied," Sarah admitted while taking the plea deal, per the Post Bulletin. She said that she received a panicked call from Samantha on the morning of September 25, 2023. "She was crying. She was panicking and scared," Sarah said at her hearing.

Saying she hadn't seen the buggy, Samantha allegedly asked if Sarah would switch places with her. "At first, I said no," Sarah told her attorney before court, per Law & Crime. "Then she made a comment saying she would go to prison for a long time."

Now, after agreeing to try and get away with the switch, Sarah is facing a maximum possible sentence of six months in jail and four years probation. In exchange for the deal, all remaining charges against her have been dropped. The agreement is set to be formally accepted March 31.

Samantha has had some of the charges against her dismissed, but still faces several serious ones, including vehicular homicide, felony criminal operation, driving while impaired, and careless driving, according to the Post Bulletin, when her trial is set to begin July 14.

Police have been onto the alleged switch almost since the beginning, after Samantha's SVU struck a horse-drawn carriage owned by an Amish family named Miller. Two of the family's young children, Wilma, 7, and Irma, 11, died in the crash, along with one horse. Two more siblings were injured but survived.

According to the criminal complaint against Samantha, a witness said he first saw one woman after the crash before another woman -- "who looked similar" to the first -- "just sort of appeared" at the crime scene.

He said he "saw the second lady give the first lady a hug and heard the first lady say that she didn't see them until it was too late."

When authorities arrived, it was Sarah who told deputies she hit the buggy. When asked for her ID, she said it was in a nearby black SUV -- and not the silver one involved in the crash.

Sarah allegedly said the vehicle in the accident belonged to her sister, claiming she was driving it because hers was in the shop. The deputy noted the two women "looked extremely similar."

After speaking with Sarah in the squad car, the deputy kept his digital recorder running as he stepped away from the vehicle. Per court docs, Sarah was heard talking to her sister, not knowing their every word was being picked up.

"During the recording, Sarah can be heard saying, 'I think one of the guys is onto me but I don't really care ... there's no way they would ever know the difference between the two of us so they can't tell," reads the complaint.

Later, detectives reported uncovering a damning text message sent from Samantha to a friend, where she allegedly wrote, "Made Sarah come and take the fall for it so I wouldn’t go to prison."

A manager at a Hy-Vee where both sisters worked said Samantha messaged him on the day of the crash saying "that she messed up and was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the crash." The manager believed Sarah took the fall for her sister because "Samantha took care of Sarah's children while Sarah was in prison and now, she feels like she needs to help Samantha."

An HR manager for Hy-Vee also received a call from Samantha that day, in which she allegedly said, "I f--ked up. I just killed two Amish people; they were kids ... I just hit a f--king buggy and I killed two people ... I'm not sober ... I'm high on meth."

Security footage also showed Samantha leaving work in a silver SUV shortly before the accident, with a cell phone linked to Samantha being the one used to call 911.

A search warrant was obtained for Samantha's home, but when authorities arrived at the residence, Sarah said her sister wasn't there, per the complaint. She also said she first called Samantha after the crash and had her sister call 911, in an apparent attempt to explain her twin's call.

When authorities entered the home, they purportedly found Samantha inside the residence and gave her a blood test, which allegedly found the presence of methamphetamine and THC.

A social worker for Sarah's 13-year-old daughter also told authorities the girl claimed "my mom wasn't the one that was driving" -- while a text message from Samantha and someone only identified as "DH" allegedly showed her again admit to the crime.

Samantha's phone also reportedly had searches for, "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?"

In February 2024, Samantha was hit with 21 total charges, including vehicular homicide under the influence and fleeing the scene, followed by 16 felony counts for Sarah two days later, including including falsely taking responsibility for a crime and aiding and abetting. After Sarah's plea deal, Samantha is facing 17 remaining charges, with drug-related charges having been dropped.

Speaking with The Wall Street Journal, the father of the two girls who died said the women "were thinking about themselves" in the aftermath of the crash. While the Amish don't believe in the criminal justice system, noted the publication, he accepts the charges against the women.

"It was not a good scene, I'll tell you that, when you see your kids scattered along the road," he told WSJ.