A grieving mother has shared a heartbreaking final photo of her three-year-old daughter, taken just moments before her tragic passing.
On October 7, 2022, little Scarlett Jensen was killed in a devastating hit-and-run incident. At the time, she and her two-year-old brother, Henry, were in the care of their grandmother while their parents, Samantha and her husband, attended a wedding out of town.
While out for a walk in the family’s private driveway in Oldtown, Idaho, an unimaginable tragedy struck. A speeding Chevy Tahoe came barreling down the road, hitting Scarlett, her grandmother, and her younger brother.
“My mother was waving her hands, screaming for him to stop, and she tried to grab my children to move them out of the way, but he was going too fast,” Samantha Jensen recalled. “Scarlett was killed almost instantly, and my mom and Henry were critically injured.”
The driver of the Tahoe fled the scene on foot but was later apprehended several miles away. He is now serving a ten-year prison sentence.
“Henry was airlifted to the children’s hospital, where doctors found a fractured spine, six broken ribs, a broken jaw, a broken collarbone, a liver laceration, and multiple other injuries,” Samantha told PEOPLE. “My mom also suffered several broken bones but was eventually released from the hospital.”
Henry endured a grueling recovery, spending a week in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit before being stable enough to return home. He wore a full-body brace for ten weeks as he healed.
In the wake of Scarlett’s passing, the family was consumed by grief. But amid the pain, Samantha discovered a small yet profound source of comfort—a final photo her mother had taken of Scarlett just minutes before the accident.
“My mom lost her phone when they were hit, and it took us some time to find it. When we finally did, I was going through pictures and found that one,” Samantha shared. “I checked the timestamp and realized it was taken only five minutes before her official time of death. That means it was just moments before the crash.”
The photo captured a simple yet cherished moment: Scarlett picking flowers in the driveway after returning home from an ice cream outing with her grandmother and brother.
“When they got back, Scarlett wanted to get out of the stroller to pick flowers,” Samantha explained. “That’s when my mom took the last picture I have of her alive.”
Grief has been an overwhelming journey for the Jensen family. Some days feel unbearable, while others bring glimpses of healing.
“Some days, it feels like I’m drowning, and some days I can tread water,” Samantha said. “Our whole family is working through therapy, trying to heal as much as possible. My faith in the Lord has saved my life and helped me tremendously on this journey.”
At first, looking at the final photo of Scarlett was too painful for Samantha. But as time passed, she came to cherish it as a beautiful memory of her daughter’s last moments.
“I am so incredibly thankful to have that photo,” she told PEOPLE. “It captures the peace of her final moments, the beauty that surrounded her when she took her last breaths. I will always picture her happy and carefree, picking flowers with her best friend and Meemaw.”
Rest in peace, sweet Scarlett.
