Video appears to show woman starting fire after crashing vehicle through Pickering home

TORONTO -

Charges have been laid after a woman appeared to ram a vehicle through the garage door of a residence in Pickering, eventually leading to a large fire that consumed much of the home.

Police say that they were first called to the scene late Tuesday afternoon after receiving a call regarding a woman who had repeatedly driven into a garage door belonging to a residence.

They say that after the door eventually broke the woman proceeded to drive her vehicle into the residence. The vehicle then caught fire, eventually igniting the residence itself.

A contractor who was working in the area at the time captured most of the incident on video and posted it to YouTube.

The footage shows the contractor entering the garage to check on the woman’s wellbeing. But when he looks inside the vehicle something in the woman’s hand can be seen on fire. The man screams to the woman to get out of the car but she refuses, at which point the man exits the garage to call 911.

“We went up there and checked her out and she was lighting a Tim Hortons tray on fire. She looked at me and threw it right on the seat and threw the car in park and I said I’m getting the hell out of here,” the man who took the video, Adam West, told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday afternoon.

After West left the garage, several Good Samaritans are seen in his video attempting to get the woman to safety but she initially resists their overtures.

Then after about 10 minutes heavy black smoke starts billowing from the garage and the woman steps outside.

At that point two men are seen attempting to hold her back but she appears to free herself from their grip after a brief struggle.

Meanwhile, West is seen banging on door of the home to ensure nobody is inside and then knocks on the doors of several neighbouring residences to alert them to the fire, all while continuing to film.

Police say that the female suspect did flee the area but was found nearby and apprehended under the Mental Health Act.

She is facing four charges, including arson and dangerous operation of a conveyance.

The Ontario Fire Marshal continues to probe the circumstances leading up to the blaze.

On Wednesday, OFM investigator Michael Berg told CTV News Toronto that crews are sifting through the debris in the hopes of locating “potential evidence of an ignition source or fuels” that could have hastened the spread of the fire.

“We are finding some evidence but will have to put it altogether,” he said.

Police are urging anyone with information about the incident to contact investigators.