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Mom of 5 dies in crash; boyfriend says he cut brake lines to make crack pipe: police

SCRANTON, Pa. — Friends of a Pennsylvania woman who was killed when her car collided with a tree say the circumstances of the crash never made sense – now...
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SCRANTON, Pa. -- Friends of a Pennsylvania woman who was killed when her car collided with a tree say the circumstances of the crash never made sense – now, the woman's boyfriend is charged with homicide after admitting to cutting her brake lines, according to WNEP.

Tammy Fox's car slammed into a tree on the corner of North Washington Avenue and Pine Street in Scranton last week. It's now become a memorial to her, and friends gathered there to remember her.

"I just never bought that it was just an accident," said Lisa Vargas. "I knew it in my heart, and I just want justice for her. I really do."

A few friends placed Tammy's favorite flower -- red roses -- at the base of the tree where she was killed. It's grown into a memorial to the woman who police now say was killed by her boyfriend.

State troopers say Fox's boyfriend, John Jenkins, 39, admitted to cutting Fox's brake lines the night before the deadly crash.

"Now that the truth came out, we felt it all along. It was like she was giving us a sign," Vargas said.

Vargas and Fox were friends for more than two decades. Vargas said she hadn't met John Jenkins but had a bad feeling about him.

According to police, Jenkins said he cut the brake lines of Fox's car to make a pipe he would use to smoke crack cocaine. That's an excuse her friends don't buy.

"I mean, can't you find something else around your house to smoke crack in? Aluminum foil? Something else. I'm pretty sure if you're a career crack head, you can find something else besides a brake line to smoke crack in," said one woman who didn't want to be identified.

Fox was a key witness in a case against several Lackawanna County corrections officers accused of sexually abusing female inmates. She was also a plaintiff in a federal civil lawsuit against those corrections officers and several Lackawanna County offices.

Her friends say that part of her life and the way her life ended doesn't define her.

"She loved her family. She loved her friends. She loved her community. She was actually in recovery. She was speaking at meetings and going to meetings. She was a wonderful person and we need to give her the honor and respect that she deserves."

Tammy Fox's friends have set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for her funeral services and support her five children.

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