A 38-year-old mother of five living in Scranton is dead following a car crash that police say was caused by her boyfriend cutting her brake lines, Pennsylvania State Police say.
John William Jenkins Jr., 39, cut the brake lines "in an attempt to obtain a metal pipe that could be used to smoke crack cocaine," according to state police at Dunmore in Lackawanna County.
Police charged Jenkins with homicide in the death of Tammy A. Fox, and he is being held without the possibility of bail.
Fox, a Jersey City native, was driving her black Hyundai Sonata about 10 a.m. Aug. 22 west on Pine Street in Scranton when "her vehicle began to accelerate," police say in a news release.
The car crossed through the intersection of Pine Street and North Washington Avenue where it "violently struck a tree," according to police.
Fox died of her injuries suffered in the crash.
"A mechanical inspection and search of Fox's vehicle showed that the brake lines had been cut," police said.
Jenkins told police in an interview he had cut the brake lines the night before while at the couple's home, the release states. Public records show Fox lived on South Ninth Avenue in Scranton, near Steamtown National Historic Site, less than 2 miles from the crash.
Fox was a graduate of Scranton High School and Lackawanna College, according to her obituary.
A gofundme.com fundraising effort is set up to help her family with funeral expenses and care for her five children.
Jenkins was arraigned Tuesday night on the homicide count and sent to the Lackawanna County prison. A preliminary hearing is tentatively scheduled Sept. 7.
Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.