Dad's chilling FaceTime call to daughter moments before freak accident claims his life

Warning: Distressing content

Jesse Maxwell was out doing his job restoring power to storm-affected areas when he noticed a number of missed calls on his phone.

The dad from the US state of Georgia, was always home for bath time and bedtime, and his youngest child, daughter River, 4, was missing him.

He decided to make time for a quick FaceTime call to River, which his wife Hope snapped and shared to her Facebook account. It was the last time they would see him alive.

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Soon after Maxwell hung up the call, he was struck in the back of the head by a fallen tree branch and later died. He was 32.

The photo of Maxwell, wearing a hard hat with a light attached while he FaceTimed his daughter, who can be seen smiling in the right corner of the screen, is now a reminder of the fragility of life.

Hope Maxwell uploaded the image to her Facebook account on January 14 along with the post, "River isn't use to not having her daddy home for bedtime.

"She did get to FaceTime him for a few seconds and of course she has to sleep in one of his shirts for bed tonight so they can match.

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"Thank you for working so hard babe and for being so selfless. We love you!

"Also a huge thank you and continued prayers for all of the other first responders that are out there working all day and night."

Soon after she posted the image, Maxwell received a phone call to say her husband had been injured and was not breathing.

The grieving mum told TODAY in the US she "thanked God" she decided to document River's last FaceTime call with her dad.

She said River had been able to show her dad she was wearing one of his shirts and pictures of the two of them together that she had been colouring in.

After learning of her husband's death, she uploaded another photo to her Facebook account of their blended family, which included Jesse's two older children, Lucas, 11, and Loryn, 7, and Hope's daughter Maddie, 6.

"We are going to miss you more than you will ever know," she wrote.

"I do not know how to navigate this. You have always told me I am strong, but I don't know what I will do without you.

"The kids are going to miss you so much but they are so lucky to have gotten to experience the love you had for them.

"You are my best friend and I will love you till my last breath Jesse."

She told TODAY her husband had texted her a similar message earlier on the night he died.

"You know I'm going to love you until my soul leaves my body," he messaged her.

Maxwell said on Facebook this week that she keeps "waiting for my best friend to walk through the front door."

"Baby, you are so so loved and I need you more than you will ever know. But I know you are joking with Jesus," she wrote in another post. "You will forever be my hero and I will love you until my last breath."

She also thanked the work crews who erected a cross in his honour.

Another Facebook post shed light on how little River was coping after her father's death.

It said River had become quiet after seeing a rainbow in the sky before asking, "If my Daddy has wings, does that mean he can sit on top of that rainbow?"

A funeral service was held on January 19. A GoFundMe campaign has also been started to assist the family.