Police allege twin sister stepped in, took responsibility for Amish buggy crash in September

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – There’s been a strange development in a crash that killed two children and injured two others who were riding on an Amish buggy in southern Minnesota in September.

The crash happened just before 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 25, on County Road 1 when the driver of a Toyota 4Runner collided with the two-wheeled, horse-drawn buggy south of County Road 102, near the Sumner Center Church. 

7-year-old Wilma Miller and 11-year-old Irma Miller were killed during the crash and their siblings, a 9-year-old and a 13-year-old, both suffered serious injuries and were transported to a nearby medical facility for treatment.

Fillmore County Sheriff John DeGeorge says a 35-year-old Spring Valley woman was accused of being the driver of the Toyota that rear-ended the buggy, but that woman may be the twin sister of the woman who was actually driving.   

Court records state that investigators believe the actual driver’s twin sister showed up before law enforcement, and the two switched clothes. 

The twin sister then claimed responsibility for the crash, but investigators think she lied about where she was and where she was going.   

The squad car’s dash cam picked up a conversation between the sisters talking about how law enforcement couldn’t tell the two apart.  

Through the course of the investigation, law enforcement found an exchange of messages between the woman they believe was the driver during the incident and a co-worker, in which the suspected driver admitting to being high on meth at work prior to the crash.

The investigation remains active and ongoing.