Scarlett Jensen, three years old, had a typical day full of joy and simple pleasures. She spent the afternoon in Old Town, Idaho, with her grandma, Jamie, and her two-year-old brother, Henry.
After spending time together playing and laughing while out for ice cream and a stroll, the three had just returned.
Scarlett, who adored horses, unicorns, and spending time with her siblings, was always full of excitement.
Born on New Year’s Day 2019, she was Samantha Jensen’s first child, and her life focused on her family.
She enjoyed attending preschool, playing soccer, and caring for her younger siblings, particularly Henry, her best buddy.
Her passion for gathering flowers prompted her to ask her grandmother if she might collect some from their private road that afternoon.
It was then, as she bent down to pick the yellow and purple blooms, that her grandmother, Jamie, snapped what would become a heartbreaking photograph.
Scarlett stands in that image, surrounded by nature, unsure of what will happen next. Jamie had no idea she was recording the last moments of her granddaughter’s life.
Samantha Jensen discovered the photo many weeks later.
“My mom took this picture at 4:47 pm, and my daughter’s time of death was 4:52,” she stated in a sorrowful TikTok post.
“My mom didn’t know she was capturing the last moments of her life. This one is really hard for me to look at, just knowing what comes next breaks my heart.”
Scarlett’s excitement that day reflected her freewheeling nature. She liked soccer and had been looking forward to her game the next day, delighted to run and play with her buddies.
But Samantha and her family will soon experience unimaginable grief.
Tragedy struck while the family was enjoying their time outside. Scarlett, Henry, and their grandmother were walking down their private driveway when a Chevy Tahoe came speeding down the dirt road.
Jamie, trying to protect the children, waved her hands and yelled at the vehicle to stop. Unfortunately, it was too late.
Samantha told “People” weeks later about the incident: “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.”
The hit-and-run driver hit all three of them. Scarlett, a bright three-year-old, died almost instantaneously, while her grandma and Henry were badly injured.
Samantha was initially unable to bear looking at the photograph. It was a heartbreaking reminder of her daughter’s last moments. “It was extremely painful for me to look at in the beginning,” she told me.
“How do you come to terms with the existence of a ‘last picture’ of your child?”
Henry, who was critically injured, had to be airlifted to a children’s hospital, where doctors discovered many injuries, including a shattered spine, broken ribs, and a broken jaw.
He spent a week in the PICU and, once stable, wore a full-body brace for ten weeks.
Despite her anguish, Samantha eventually found solace in the photograph.
“I am so incredibly thankful to have that photo,” she told me. “It captures the peaceful feeling of her last moments, the beauty she was surrounded by when she took her last breaths.”
The family’s sadness continues overpowering, and Scarlett’s loss is felt severely in their household. “The house feels so quiet and empty without her,” Samantha accepted. “Some days, it feels like I am drowning, and some days I am able to tread water.”
The driver of the Chevy Tahoe left the scene on foot and was finally captured by cops a few kilometers away. He is currently serving a ten-year jail sentence, with two years credited for time served.
As the family heals, they have publicly shared their story in the hopes of showing others that it is acceptable to grieve.
Samantha urges others to talk about their loss, adding, “You don’t have to do it in silence. Talk about your people, scream their names loud and proud, and never stop sharing their stories.”
The image of Scarlett, taken just minutes before her tragic demise, has become a symbol of love and remembering for the family.
Feature Image Credit: (Instagram/@samjensen44)
