Troubled actress Amanda Bynes has been taken to a hospital for involuntary psychiatric care after the former teen star was involved in a disturbance in Southern California, authorities said on Tuesday.
Don Aguilar, a spokesman for the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, declined to describe the incident that prompted deputies to take Bynes into custody and commit her for psychiatric evaluation. But local media reported that the 27-year-old actress had started a fire in the driveway of a home in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks. Bynes was born in Thousand Oaks and grew up there. The Ventura County Fire Department confirmed that it responded on Monday night to an incident involving a gas can that was set on fire in a driveway and that Bynes was at the scene, but it would not say if she was accused of starting the fire. The small fire, which scorched the driveway, was extinguished by local residents, the fire department said. Under California law a person may be detained for a mental health evaluation for up to 72 hours. A message left with Bynes’ attorney was not immediately returned. The actress rose to prominence at age 13 when she had her own comedy show on the Nickelodeon television network but has made headlines over the past year for erratic behavior, legal problems and odd posts on Twitter. Bynes, who is on probation in California for driving on a suspended license, is on trial in the state on a charge of driving under the influence and in New York on charges of marijuana possession and throwing a bong out of a window.
