As I stepped off the plane the police we were waiting for me, and I knew my life was about to change forever. By Samantha Jensen, 27
I bounced my little boy on my lap and his eyes widened as he spotted the colourful flowers scattered across the kitchen table.
‘Looks like someone’s been gardening again,’ I said.
Right on cue, the door flung open, and my three-year-old daughter Scarlett skipped into the room, holding picked blooms and belting out the song Into the Unknown from the Disney movie Frozen 2.
‘Here you go Henry,’ she said, holding out a bunch of lavender to her two-year-old brother.
Scarlett brought so much colour and happiness into our lives.
There was nothing she loved more than unicorns, picking flowers, listening to songs from the Frozen movies, and playing with her brother and baby sister, Molly.
She embraced everything, and enjoyed meeting new people and learning new things.
Days later, my brother Alex and I were getting ready to catch a flight to attend a wedding.
Molly was coming with me, but Scarlett and Henry were staying behind with Lane.
He had to work, so my mum, Jamie, had come to watch the kids.
‘I was thinking about taking them out for some ice-cream,’ she said.
‘Scarlett will love that,’ I replied.
Alex and I set off, and just before we boarded the plane, I FaceTimed Mum.
But my usually happy little Scarlett was crying.
‘My snow globe broke,’ she said.
‘Grandma’s going to take you for ice-cream soon and you can have your favourite – a vanilla sundae with chocolate sauce,’ I said, trying to cheer her up. ‘And don’t worry, mummy’s going to buy you a brand-new snow globe.’
And, while I was away, I did buy her one.
After a lovely wedding, we returned home.
After our plane landed, I turned my phone on, and an emergency alert came through.
It was notifying me of a heavy police presence on the road where I lived, and I felt worried.
I phoned Mum, but she didn’t pick up.
So, I phoned Lane.
But he didn’t know anything.
Then, a flight attendant called my name out over the tannoy, and I was informed that police were waiting for me.
In the airport, I spotted the two police officers, and a wave of dread swept over me.
‘Who’s hurt?’ I asked.
‘We don’t know,’ an officer said. ‘You need to call your local hospital.’
I phoned and a doctor told me, ‘Henry was hit by a car.’
He explained that Henry had been taken by helicopter to a nearby children’s hospital, and told me to get there as quickly as possible.’
‘No!’ I cried.
I handed Molly to Alex and jumped into a car with one of the police officers.
I still hadn’t heard from Mum, but I assumed she and Scarlett were together.
It broke my heart to imagine how sad and scared Scarlett must have been for her little brother.
He was her best friend.
I phoned Lane and told him to meet me at the hospital.
There, I was taken to see Henry.
He was unconscious and his tiny body was hooked up to wires.
His beautiful little face was covered in blood.
I cried as I stroked his silky blond hair.
‘Mummy’s here, sweetie,’ I said.
A nurse appeared.
‘Could you come with me?’ she asked.
I followed her into the hospital chapel.
There, she sat me down and said: ‘Your mum and Scarlett were also hit by the car. Your mum is being treated at your local hospital, but Scarlett didn’t make it.’
I stared at her, trying to make sense of what I’d just been told.
The words Scarlett didn’t make it rang in my ears.
Then I screamed.
‘My baby!’ I said. ‘She can’t be dead, she’s just a baby. She has a soccer game tomorrow.’
I reached into my bag to grab my phone and I found the snow globe I’d bought for Scarlett.
It hit me then, how I’d never see her smiling little face or hear her voice again.
I phoned Lane.
‘You need to pull over,’ I said.
Then, I sent his world crashing down.
‘Scarlett was also hit,’ I said. ‘She’s gone.’
The wounded sound that came from the other end of the phone was something I knew I’d never forget.
Soon after, Lane, Alex and Molly arrived at hospital.
Lane and I held each other and cried.
When we went to see Scarlett, she looked so peaceful, as if she was sleeping.
We dressed her in her favourite blue dress and brown suede shoes.
We brought all her favourite toys to her, and we brushed her golden curls, painted her nails and read her favourite bedtime story Goodnight Scarlett.
Later that day, we visited Mum.
She’d suffered a broken collarbone, torn ligaments in her leg, and a dislocated shoulder.
When she saw us, she burst into tears.
‘I’m so sorry,’ she said.
We tried to reassure her.
‘We love you,’ I said. ‘This is not your fault.’
Mum explained how she’d taken Scarlett and Henry for ice-cream and a walk.
As they approached our driveway, Scarlett wanted to be let out of her buggy so she could pick some yellow and purple flowers she’d spotted.
But a 4x4 came hurtling down the dirt road.
Mum had waved and shouted at the driver to stop. She’d tried to pull the kids out of the way, but he was going too fast.
Scarlett was killed almost instantly. Mum and Henry were critically injured.
The driver had fled the scene.
But he’d later been caught and arrested.
Scarlett was cremated.
I rested my head on Lane’s shoulder, as we watched her tiny casket disappear from view.
Through tears we sang her favourite song Into the Unknown – Where are you going? Don’t leave me alone. How do I follow you, into the unknown?
A couple of days later, Henry was discharged and returned home.
He’d suffered a fractured spine, six broken ribs, a broken jaw, a broken collarbone, a liver laceration and several other injuries. He had to wear a full body brace for eight weeks.
‘Where’s Sissy?’ he asked.
‘Sissy has gone to heaven. We can’t see her anymore but she’s always with us,’ I replied.
A couple of weeks after Scarlett’s death, Mum’s phone was recovered from the crime scene.
On it, was a photo Mum had taken of Scarlett taken moments before she was killed.
The photo had been taken at 16:47pm and Scarlett’s time of death was 16:52pm.
It was heartbreaking to look at the picture knowing what came next.
Months later, I discovered I was pregnant.
‘A gift from Scarlett,’ I told Lane.
An investigation into her death began.
In time, Dakota James LaFountain appeared in court and pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter.
We learnt that he wasn’t under the influence of alcohol or drugs when he drove his car into our family.
He claimed he was having a mental breakdown and didn’t remember a thing.
LaFountain was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
I told Lane, ‘It’s not right that he’s serving such a short sentence when he robbed Scarlett of her entire life.’
Now, Scarlett’s baby sister Rosie is 18 months old. Although they never got to meet, we talk about Scarlett every day, as we want her siblings to grow up knowing all about their big sister.
I’d give anything to have Scarlett back.
But when I look at that last photo taken of her, I feel grateful that her last moments were peaceful and happy, spent with her brother, picking flowers, and with a belly full of ice-cream.