Fraser woman arrested after allegedly lighting Jeep on fire; video goes viral

Mark Hicks Beth LeBlanc
The Detroit News

Authorities arrested a 26-year-old Fraser woman this week on an arson charge related to a Harrison Township vehicle fire, according to a statement from the Macomb County Sheriff Department.

Sydney Parham was arraigned Friday on a charge of third-degree arson after video allegedly showed her dumping gasoline inside a black Jeep at San Remo Apartments and setting it on fire. 

Sydney Parham

The blaze occurred Wednesday in the parking lot of the apartment complex.

Deputies were dispatched about 8 a.m. Wednesday to the San Remo Villa Apartments near Union Lake Road on reports of a vehicle fire and found a black Jeep fully engulfed, investigators said in a statement. Township firefighters responded and extinguished the blaze.

In a video taken at the scene and posted to YouTube, a person is shown dumping gasoline in the back of the Jeep prior to leaning forward to throw a lit match into the vehicle. The explosion threw the individual back into a nearby vehicle. 

Witnesses at the scene told responding firefighters and deputies that the woman in the video was Parham and that she knew the owner of the vehicle, according to the Macomb County Sheriff Department.

Parham was pulled over in Roseville and taken into custody, where she was treated for minor cuts and burns. 

Parham was given a $20,000 personal recognizance bond prior to her next hearing Aug. 5. 

eleblanc@detroitnews.com

mhicks@detroitnews.com