Defense is seeking dismissal of most charges against twins in connection with deadly Fillmore County crash

PRESTON, Minn. (KTTC) – There are new developments coming out of Fillmore County with the twin sisters facing multiple charges in a fatal accident involving an Amish buggy.

The defense attorney for one of the twins wants 18 of the 21 charges against Samantha Petersen dropped.

Petersen is charged with multiple counts of felony vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol in connection with the Sept. 25, 2023, crash that killed Amish children Wilma and Irma Miller.

The girls, ages 7 and 11, were on their way to school that morning on Fillmore County Road 1 north of Spring Valley. Two other Miller children were injured when their stroller was struck.

Authorities initially reported that the driver of the striking vehicle was Sarah Petersen, Samantha's identical twin sister. However, according to court documents, investigators later discovered that Sarah was representing Samantha, who was allegedly under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident. Both sisters were at the scene when police arrived.

Samantha's attorney, Carson Heefer, disputes several areas of probable cause. This also includes the search warrant with which investigators took a blood sample from Samantha on the evening of September 26, 2023 – 37 hours after the accident. Heefner also wants the court to disregard an audio recording between Samantha and Sarah that was recorded the morning of the accident while the two were in a Fillmore County sheriff's deputy's vehicle. According to the criminal complaint, in this recording the sisters admitted their role reversal and intentional deception. Heefer said the Petersens did not know a recording had taken place and therefore did not consent to the recording.

In his 22-page filing dated Oct. 19, 2024, Heefer argued that prosecutors had no evidence that Samantha was high at the time of the crash: “The answer is a resounding no.” He said Samantha never admitted to being high while driving to be. He added that she admitted to her work manager that she was high 90 minutes after the accident while speaking to that manager on the phone about the incident. This alleged conversation is the subject of the criminal complaint.

According to Heefner, there is no way to determine whether Samantha was under the influence of anything at the time of the accident because no samples were taken at the scene.

The three charges against Samantha, which were not contested, include speeding, careless driving and failure to provide proof of insurance – all misdemeanors at the misdemeanor level.

Samantha's next court date is still pending, as is Sarah's. The sisters have separate cases.

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