A grieving mother has shared the heartbreaking final photo of her three-year-old daughter, taken just minutes before her death.
On October 7, 2022, Samantha Jensen and her husband attended a wedding, leaving daughter Scarlett and her younger brother Henry with their grandmother, Jamie, in Oldtown, Idaho. That afternoon, they enjoyed ice cream and a walk before returning home.
When they reached the family’s private driveway, Scarlett asked to get out of the stroller to pick flowers. Jamie took a picture of her granddaughter at 4:47 p.m.—unaware it would be the last.
Moments later, a Chevy Tahoe sped down the driveway, striking Jamie, Scarlett, and Henry. Jamie tried to wave the driver down and pull the children to safety, but the vehicle was going too fast. Scarlett was killed almost instantly; Jamie and Henry suffered critical injuries.
The driver fled on foot but was arrested a few miles away and later sentenced to 10 years in prison. Henry was airlifted to a children’s hospital with a fractured spine, six broken ribs, a broken jaw, a broken collarbone, a liver laceration, and other injuries.
Jamie also sustained multiple fractures but was released from the hospital sooner. Henry spent a week in the PICU and wore a full-body brace for 10 weeks during his recovery.
Weeks after the tragedy, Samantha found her mother’s lost phone and discovered the photo of Scarlett taken just five minutes before her official time of death. At first, it was too painful to look at, but over time she began to treasure it.
“I am so incredibly thankful to have that photo,” Samantha said. “It captures the peaceful feeling of her last moments—the beauty she was surrounded by. I will forever picture her happy and carefree, picking flowers with her best friend and Meemaw.
