Scarlett Jensen died at just 3 years old in a horrific hit-and-run accident. She and her 2-year-old brother, Henry, were walking with their grandmother near their home in Oldtown, Idaho, when the tragic accident occurred. A driver ran down all three, and Scarlett died instantly. The family discovered a short time later that Scarlett’s grandmother, Jamie, had captured the last picture of the siblings just seconds before Scarlett died.
Samantha Jensen, Scarlett and Henry’s mom, posted the video on TikTok where it now has 27 million views. Jensen captioned the heartbreaking photo, “Life isn’t fair, and I really miss my baby tonight.”
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The family had just gone out for ice cream.
Jensen told People her mother was watching her kids while she was out of town for a wedding on October 7, 2022.
“That afternoon, they went to get ice cream and enjoy a walk together,” she said. “When they arrived home to our back driveway, Scarlett wanted to get out of the stroller to pick flowers. That’s when my mom took the last picture I have of her alive.”
As the threesome walked on their private driveway, tragedy occurred.
Jensen’s mom tried to stop the driver headed toward them. “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,” she told People. Scarlett died instantly, and Henry and Jamie had critical injuries.
Police arrested the driver, Dakota LaFountain, a short time later. He pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in January 2024, and a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison, the Spokesman-Review reported.
The haunting photo brings back heartbreaking memories.
Jensen told People that Henry and her mom both suffered serious injuries after the crash. It took a while for the family to find her phone, and when they did, Jensen made the shocking discovery.
“My mom lost her phone when they were hit and it took us a while to find it, so when we finally did I was going through pictures and found that one,” she said. “I looked at the timestamp and realized it was only five minutes before her declared time of death, so it must have been taken seconds before the person hit them.”
Jensen put text on the video that reads, “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.”
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Life will never be the same for the family.
Scarlett’s absence is a stark reminder of what life used to be like for the Jensen family. The mom’s heart still aches two years later.
“Some days, it feels like I am drowning, and some days I am able to tread water,” she told People. “My whole family is putting in a lot of work in therapy and trying to heal as much as possible. My faith in the Lord has saved my life and helped me tremendously in my healing journey.”
The photo brings her some solace. “I am so incredibly thankful to have that photo. It captures the peaceful feeling of her last moments, the beauty she was surrounded by when she took her last breaths. I will forever picture her happy and carefree, picking flowers with her best friend and Meemaw,” she said.
