Mother Shares Heartbreaking Final Photo of Daughter Taken Moments Before Tragic Accident: ‘It Breaks My Heart’

A grandmother’s spontaneous photograph has become a bittersweet memory for Samantha Jensen, whose 3-year-old daughter, Scarlett, was tragically struck by a car and killed just minutes after the photo was taken. Samantha shared the image on TikTok, writing, “My mom took this picture at 4:47 pm and my daughter’s time of death was 4:52. 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.”

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Jensen, from Oldtown, Idaho, described how she was out of town for a wedding on October 7, 2022, while her mother, Jamie, was caring for Scarlett and her 2-year-old brother, Henry. The family had spent the afternoon enjoying ice cream and a walk before returning home.

“Scarlett wanted to get out of the stroller to pick flowers,” Jensen recalled. “That’s when my mom took the last picture I have of her alive.” Moments later, while walking in the family’s private driveway, a speeding Chevy Tahoe hit them. Scarlett was killed instantly, while Jamie and Henry were critically injured.

“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,” Jensen shared. Local news outlets reported that the driver fled the scene but was apprehended a few miles away. He is now serving a 10-year prison sentence, with two years credited for time served.

Henry, meanwhile, was life-flighted to a children’s hospital with severe injuries, including a fractured spine, broken ribs, and a broken jaw. He spent a week in the pediatric ICU and wore a full-body brace for 10 weeks. Jamie also suffered multiple broken bones but was eventually released from the hospital.

Weeks later, Jensen discovered the photo her mother had taken just minutes before the accident. “My mom lost her phone when they were hit, and it took us a while to find it,” she explained. “When I finally did, I looked at the timestamp and realized it was taken just five minutes before her declared time of death.”

Scarlett, who was born on New Year’s Day in 2019, was the “long-awaited first child” of Jensen and her husband. She described her daughter as “the silliest, sweetest little girl” who loved horses, playing soccer, and being a big sister to her younger siblings.

“The house feels so quiet and empty without her,” Jensen shared, acknowledging that the grief can be overwhelming. However, she has found solace in her faith and in sharing her story on social media to show others that “it is okay to grieve loudly.”

Although the photo was initially painful to look at, Jensen now treasures it. “It captures the peaceful feeling of her last moments, the beauty she was surrounded by when she took her last breaths,” she said. “I will forever picture her happy and carefree, picking flowers with her best friend and Meemaw.”