Authorities: Amanda Bynes held for mental evaluation after starting fire in Calif driveway

LOS ANGELES — Amanda Bynes has been hospitalized for a mental health evaluation after a witness said he spotted flames on her pant legs from a small gasoline fire in the driveway of a California home.

Deputies responding to a 911 call on Monday night said the 27-year-old actress had started the fire in the driveway in Thousand Oaks, Ventura County sheriff's Capt. Don Aguilar said.

KABC-TV said the flames were fueled by gasoline.

Deputies determined that Bynes met the criteria for a mental health hold and took her into custody, where she can be held for 72 hours of observation, Aguilar said.

Passer-by Andrew Liverpool told KABC he found Bynes.

"It's dark, it's 8:45 and I just see her laying down, stomach up and her pant legs on fire, a trail of, you know, fire and gas, and I pull over," he said.

No charges were filed and responding fire officials did not administer any medical care, Aguilar said.

The former Nickelodeon actress has had several run-ins with the law. In December, she resolved a misdemeanor hit-and-run case after entering into a civil settlement with other drivers.

She was charged last fall with driving on a suspended license after it was temporarily taken away from her following two hit-and-run cases.

She also pleaded not guilty to drunken driving in a separate case.

Earlier this month Bynes appeared in a New York court on allegations that she chucked a marijuana bong out the window of her 36th-floor Manhattan apartment.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Bynes was one of the hottest actors on children's TV.