NATIONAL CITY, Calif. -- A group of thieves used a chain attached to a sport utility vehicle to yank an automated teller machine off its moorings at a South Bay shopping center early Thursday but wound up fleeing without the cash dispenser after getting into a collision with a security truck.

The three bandits broke into Plaza Bonita in National City and stole the ATM shortly after 3 a.m., according to police.

While the burglars were dragging the cash machine through a parking area at the mall, the Toyota 4Runner they were in sideswiped an approaching truck with security personnel inside, Sgt. Mike Harlan said. The impact knocked the ATM loose from its tether, and the crooks sped off, leaving it behind.

The guards were uninjured, according to police.

Several hours later, police received a call about an abandoned sport utility vehicle found a short distance from the shopping center. Officers impounded the stolen 4Runner, believed to be the one used by the would-be ATM thieves.

It was the second time in as many days that an attempt to steal a cash machine went awry in San Diego County. Early Wednesday morning, thieves used a torch to remove an ATM from a Bank of America kiosk in Scripps Ranch, but they also fled without the machine for some reason, police said.