Shortly before the three-year-old’s untimely death, a woman posted a photo of her granddaughter’s last moments.
Devastating reports state that on October 7, 2022, Scarlett Jensen was killed in a hit-and-run. Her mother, Samantha Jensen, and father were out of town attending a wedding, so her grandma was taking care of her and her 2-year-old brother, Henry.
However, something unimaginable occurred when the three of them were strolling in the Oldtown, Idaho, family’s private driveway. Scarlett, her brother, and her grandma were all plowed over by a Chevy Tahoe that sped down the street.
Samantha Jensen stated, “My mother was screaming for him to stop and waving her hands. She tried to grab my kids to get them out of the way, but he was moving too fast.”
“Scarlett died almost immediately, and Henry and my mother suffered serious injuries.”
After fleeing the scene on foot, the suspect who was operating the Chevy was eventually caught a few miles away. He is currently incarcerated for ten years.
“They discovered a fractured spine, six broken ribs, a broken jaw, a broken collarbone, a liver laceration, and several other injuries after Henry was life-flighted to the children’s hospital,” Samantha told PEOPLE.
“Despite having multiple broken bones, my mom was able to leave the hospital.”
“Henry had a full body brace on for 10 weeks and spent a week in the PICU before he was stable enough to come home,” she continued.
The family was engulfed in sorrow in the weeks that followed, but Samantha’s discovery of an apparently harmless photograph her mother had taken of Scarlett just before she passed away provided a brief respite.
“I was looking through pictures when I found that one,” Jensen explains. “My mom lost her phone when they were hit, and it took us a while to find it.” “It must have been taken seconds before the person hit them because, when I looked at the timestamp, I saw that it was only five minutes before her stated time of death.”
The photo in question was shot after Scarlett’s grandma took her two grandkids out for ice cream, according to PEOPLE.
Samantha clarified, “Scarlett wanted to get out of the stroller to pick flowers when they got home to our back driveway.””My mom took the last photo I have of her alive at that time.”
The distraught mother clarified that her days now are different. Although some people are inherently more resilient than others, the family is making every effort to deal with their immense loss.
She said to others, “There are days when I feel like I’m drowning, and other days when I can tread water.” “My entire family is working very hard in therapy and attempting to recover as much as they can. My life has been saved and my healing process has been greatly aided by my faith in the Lord.
The distraught mother initially found it hard to look at her daughter’s last photo. However, Samantha realized two years after her death that the picture is a symbol of a beautiful life.
She told PEOPLE, “I am so grateful to have that picture.” It depicts the serene atmosphere of her final moments and the splendor that enveloped her as she exhaled. I will always imagine her picking flowers with her best friend and Meemaw, content and carefree.
Peace be with you, Scarlett.
