3 Seized as Engine Fire Ends Catalina Ferryboat Joy Ride

Two men and a boy were arrested this morning when the Santa Catalina Island ferryboat they apparently took for a joy ride caught fire in Los Angeles Harbor, officials said.

Danny Andrews, 28, of Bell; Roy Bennett, 28, of Bell Gardens, and a 15-year-old boy were all booked at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Harbor Division jail on suspicion of grand theft, according to officers.

Investigators said the three apparently hot-wired the 56-foot Channel Express at San Pedro’s Berth 95 at about 2 a.m., started the engines and headed out into the harbor.

“The meatheads . . . didn’t know they had to turn on the (engine) cooling system,” said Elaine Vaughan, vice president of marketing for Catalina Express, the firm that owns the boat. “The engines overheated . . . and caught fire.”

The boat went dead in the water near one of the harbor entrances. Fire boats extinguished the blaze, and after the owners told police the three on board were not authorized to be there, Andrews, Bennett and the boy were all arrested.