EL RIO : 3 Teen-Agers Jailed, Accused of Car Theft

Three teen-agers suspected of stealing a Lincoln Towncar in El Rio on Friday crashed it on the Ventura Freeway in Camarillo two hours later and were arrested on a runway at Camarillo Airport as they tried to flee, authorities said.

The car broke through the fence on the Ventura Freeway, south of Las Posas Road, about 12:20 p.m. and flipped onto its roof on a frontage road, California Highway Patrol Officer Curt Rhyne said. Officers responding to the accident saw three teen-agers running from the car toward the airport, he said.

“Apparently they had stolen the car two hours before that,” said Rhyne, who was one of the first officers at the scene.

The trio crossed a field, jumped a fence and went through a ditch before running onto an abandoned section of a runway, authorities said.

“They were out of breath when we caught them,” Rhyne said. Airport security, sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers converged on the trio at the runway.

The teen-agers, all from El Rio, are 14, 15 and 17. Their names are not being released because of their ages. They are being held at Juvenile Hall on suspicion of car theft, possession of stolen property, driving without a driver’s license and walking on a prohibited area on a runway.