Twin who allegedly urged sister to take fall for fatal crash into Amish buggy in Minnesota is sentenced to 4 years

A Minnesota woman who allegedly urged her twin sister to take responsibility for a deadly SUV crash into an Amish buggy in 2023 was sentenced this week to four years in state prison

A Minnesota woman who allegedly urged her twin sister to take responsibility for a deadly SUV crash into an Amish buggy in 2023 was sentenced this week to four years in state prison.

Minnesota District Court Judge Jeremy Clinefelter sentenced the admitted driver, Samantha Peterson, on Thursday and also ordered her to pay nearly $40,000 in restitution, according to his sentencing memo for the case.

Peterson pleaded guilty in July to criminal vehicular homicide under the influence and criminal vehicular operation under the influence, NBC affiliate KARE of Minneapolis reported. Clinefelter ordered the sentences — four years and two years, respectively — to be served concurrently.

Authorities said Peterson was driving an SUV while high on methamphetamine after work on Sept. 25, 2023, when she rear-ended a horse-drawn buggy near Spring Valley, a small city about 114 miles south of Minneapolis.

Two sisters in the buggy, ages 7 and 11, ultimately died, while two other siblings survived with injuries, authorities said.