PRESTON, Minn. — Law enforcement is investigating identical 35-year-old twin sisters to determine who was driving an SUV that crashed into an Amish buggy last month in southeastern Minnesota, killing two children and injuring two more.

Sarah Beth Petersen, of Spring Valley, was initially identified as the driver, but later law enforcement believed they had cause to think that it could have been her identical twin sister, Samantha Jo Petersen, who was driving.

Seven-year-old Wilma Miller and 11-year-old Irma Miller were killed in the crash. Their siblings, 9-year-old Alan Miller and 13-year-old Rose Miller, were injured. The Miller family, from Stewartville, has received an outpouring of community support following the crash, including more than $88,000 raised in an online fundraiser.

According to initial reports from the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office, at 8:25 a.m. on Sept. 25, a 2005 Toyota 4Runner driving south on Fillmore County Road 1 came up from behind and struck a southbound two-wheeled horse-drawn Amish buggy. The collision happened near the intersection with County Road 102.

No criminal charges have been filed against either Petersen sister.

Court documents detail the events leading up to and immediately following the crash. According to the police report, it was Sarah Petersen who showed signs of impairment following the crash, and a sample of her blood was taken to check for evidence of that. Sarah was identified as the sole occupant of the SUV, and her sister, Samantha, had come separately in another vehicle to the scene of the crash.

Now, police appear ready to rewrite those initial findings.

Ongoing police investigation has suggested that it was not Sarah but in fact Samantha who was the driver involved in the crash, and who was potentially impaired.

While on the scene of the crash, squad car audio picked up a conversation between the sisters while Sarah was sitting in the vehicle. The two discussed how law enforcement could not tell them apart.

Among the evidence that supports that conclusion, on Sept. 26, law enforcement spoke to a coworker of the sisters who said that Samantha had admitted to being the driver at the crash. Samantha told the coworker that she was on methamphetamine and she had killed two Amish children after crashing into their buggy.

“I f—– up. I just killed two Amish people,” Samantha Petersen allegedly told the coworker.

Phone records also point to Samantha as the driver. The phone number used to call 911 is the same number that Samantha provided to law enforcement at the scene.

A search warrant for a blood draw and a full set of fingerprints for Samantha was requested and granted by a judge on Sept. 26.

“From prior law enforcement contacts, it has been found Sarah and Samantha have identified themselves as the other,” an investigator with the Fillmore County Sheriff’s Office wrote in the search warrant. In 2017, Sarah Petersen was convicted in Fillmore County for using her sister’s name during a traffic stop.

Police also reviewed security camera footage, taken at another site earlier on the day of the crash, that showed Samantha driving the vehicle that later crashed into the buggy.

In addition to fingerprints and blood draws, law enforcement requested and were granted search warrants related to the sister’s phone data and forensic evidence inside the vehicle involved in the crash, including diagnostic data that will show what the vehicle was doing before and during the crash.

Related Articles

Fatal drug overdoses remained high last year but plateaued, Minnesota Department of Health says

State adds 8,000 jobs in Sept.; unemployment steady at 3.1%

Farmington teen killed in motorcycle collision in southern Minnesota

Aging U.S. power grid to get $3.5B update; Minnesota to share largest grant

Search warrant: Couple suspected of selling meth before 5 officers shot in Benton County

 

There’s something about playing under the lights. Maybe it’s the glitz and glam associated with the spectacle. Maybe it’s the nostalgia. Maybe it’s the fact that everybody in the country is watching.

Whatever it is, the Vikings are looking forward to taking center stage on Monday Night Football when play host to the San Francisco 49ers. As important as the game is for the Vikings, head coach Kevin O’Connell doesn’t think he’ll need any sort of motivational speech ahead of the primetime game.

“It’s Monday Night Football at U.S. Bank Stadium,” O’Connell said. “I think we’ll be fine getting revved up for that.”

Though the energy is palpable across the NFL on a weekly basis, it does seem to get taken up a notch when the sun goes down.

“You feel it more in warmups,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said. “You feel it more early.”

That feeling should give the Vikings a little more juice as they try to score an upset win over the 49ers at home.

“You get an opportunity like this on Monday Night Football and it’s a lot of fun,” tight end T.J. Hockenson said. “You know, to really play a team like the 49ers, who have showed they’re a top team in this league, and to be able to go out there and compete with them, and pull it out, that would be amazing.”

More details on Davenport

A high ankle sprain is the reason pass rusher Marcus Davenport landed on injured reserve. Though a high ankle sprain sometimes requires surgery, the Vikings are still evaluating if that will be necessary for Davenport in this particular situation.

“He’s still getting some opinions,” O’Connell said “I don’t have that information right now.”

In the meantime, Davenport will continue to put in work in the training room, making sure he does everything in his power to be ready when he’s eligible to return.

“He was pretty excited to be feeling healthy and back in there,” O’Connell said. “We’ll get that timeline when we figure out what’s best for him.”

Cleveland working through injury

After suffering a foot injury last weekend, left guard Ezra Cleveland will be a player to keep an eye on this week in practice. Asked about Cleveland on Wednesday, O’Connell wouldn’t give any indication as far as his availability for the game between the Vikings and the 49ers.

“I know he’s feeling better and better,” O’Connell said. “We’ll see what his workflow potentially could look like as the week goes on.”

If Cleveland is unable to play, the Vikings will turn to left guard Dalton Risner.

Related Articles

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins never lost a Michigan-Michigan State rivalry game

Vikings linebacker Jordan Hicks named NFC defensive player of the week

The Loop Fantasy Football Report Week 7: Help! The Loop needs a quarterback!

Teammate Harrison Phillips defends Marcus Davenport after Vikings place him on IR: ‘The narrative is so wrong on that guy’

Vikings’ Danielle Hunter leads NFL in sacks, even as trade rumors swirl

Aaron Reeves, who has served as city administrator of Hudson, Wis., since September 2019, will be leaving his position next month.

Reeves, 49, of Hudson, announced his resignation Oct. 13 in a letter to Mayor Rich O’Connor and the Hudson City Council. His last day will be sometime around Thanksgiving, he said.

Aaron Reeves (Courtesy photo)

“It has been an honor to work for the city,” Reeves said Thursday. “My proudest accomplishment has been to have done my part in keeping Hudson a safe and beautiful place to visit and live.”

Reeves would not disclose his plans after leaving the city, other than to say he plans to “continue in government.”

Reeves announced a year ago that he was resigning from the city’s top job, but later changed his mind after receiving “a great amount of support from council and staff that made me think hard about my decision,” he told the Hudson Star-Observer in a story posted on Oct. 4, 2022. “Hudson is an amazing community with top notch staff and a strong council that I want to be a part of moving forward.”

Assistant City Administrator Michael Johnson will serve as interim administrator until a new city administrator is hired.

The Hudson City Council plans to use Public Administration Associates LLC, based in Whitewater, Wis., to conduct the search, which will commence after the holidays, Reeves said. PAA is the search firm that the council used when Reeves was hired, he said.

Prior to taking the job in Hudson, Reeves served as city administrator in Cloquet from 2017-2019 and as assistant city administrator in Rochester from 2016-2017. Reeves also served as city clerk in Rochester; city administrator in Cannon Falls, Minn., and city administrator in Kenyon, Minn.

He has a master’s degree in public administration from Minnesota State University, Mankato, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from Southwest Minnesota State University.

“I want to thank all the council members who served during my tenure for giving me the opportunity to serve,” Reeves said. “I really want to thank the department heads and city staff, whose hard work made my job much easier. I owe any success I’ve had to the staff and their commitment to the city.”

Related Articles

Aging U.S. power grid to get $3.5B update; Minnesota to share largest grant

Few Republicans have confidence in elections. It’s a long road for one group trying to change that in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Supreme Court is asked to redraw legislative boundaries created by Republicans

Allina Health System doctors vote to unionize

Gunfire from hunting can hurt hearing forever