Michigan woman pleads guilty to car fire, video shows fireball exploding in her face

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - A Macomb County woman who filled an SUV with gasoline and then lit it on fire, causing a fireball to explode in her face has been sentenced to probation after agreeing to plead guilty to a misdemeanor. 

Sydney Parham pleaded guilty to one count of arson - preparing to burn something between $200 and $1,000. The woman, now 27, pleaded guilty on Monday to the arson charge which is a misdemeanor and not as serious as her original third-degree arson charge, which was a felony.

As part of her plea deal, she was sentenced to 18 months probation. She could have received up to ten years in prison for the arson felony charge.

The video was uploaded to YouTube by user ppv_tahoe last July and the Macomb County Sheriff's office confirmed the video is the same incident that Parham was charged in.

Parham, of Fraser, was charged in July 2020 after the car fire at the San Remo Apartments on Union Lake Road in Macomb County. Video from across the parking lot of the complex shows a woman dumping gasoline into the backseat of an SUV. 

After the fuel is poured in, the woman reaches in with a stick lighter to ignite it. But the fire explodes in her face, sending her backward onto the pavement of the SUV.

By the time the fire department arrived and put out the fire, nobody was near the SUV. However, after reviewing the video, police arrested Parham.

Sydney Parham, 26, was arrested after deputies said she filled set a car on fire on July 22.