FILLMORE COUNTY, Minn. (WJW) – Charges have been brought against a pair of identical twins who are accused of switching places in a crash that killed 2 children.
On Sept. 25, a motor vehicle slammed into a horse-drawn carriage in Fillmore County, Minnesota, killing two children inside and injuring their two siblings. Sarah Beth Petersen took responsibility at the scene, according to court records.
But prosecutors now allege her identical twin Samantha Jo Petersen was actually behind the wheel.
Prosecutors said the sisters switched places because Samantha Jo was high on drugs at the time of the crash. According to FOX News, an officer picked up this exchange between the two sisters at the scene on his recorder:
“I think one of the guys is onto me, but I really don’t care,” Samantha Jo said to Sarah Beth, according to the recording. “ … There’s no way they would ever know the difference between the two of us, so they can’t tell.”
Detectives also found evidence in a text exchange sent from Samantha Jo’s phone. According to FOX News, the message read, “i hit that amish buggy and killed two people…made sarah come there and take the fall for it so i wouldn’t go to prison.”
Court records show Samantha Jo has two prior DWI arrests and a previous charge of giving a false name to law enforcement, FOX News reported.
Samantha Jo now faces a total of 21 counts in the deadly crash and is due in court later this month.
Sarah Beth is due in court on April 1 on 16 charges, including aiding and abetting.
