SANTIAGO – A thief died and two others were seriously injured Friday after being crushed by an automatic teller machine they had stolen from a gas station and that they were making off with in an SUV that subsequently hit a bus, Chilean police said.

The incident occurred in the wee hours, when some 15 individuals arrived at a filling station on the southwest side of Santiago in three vehicles, broke a window and grabbed the ATM.

The thieves tied it to the SUV with ropes and sped away pursued by police, who had been alerted by the alarm of the establishment and by workers at the filling station, Col. Mauricio Toro said.

At an intersection, the SUV crashed violently into a city bus that was carrying no passengers, and, according to witnesses, it rose some 3 meters (10 feet) in the air to crash down on the road leaning forward.

As a result of the impact, the ATM, which weighs some 250 kilos (550 lbs.), moved forward on the vehicle and smashed the head of the 20-year-old driver, who died immediately.

Two other individuals were trapped in the SUV and suffered fractures and serious injuries. They were taken to a Santiago hospital.

The rest of the assailants managed to escape in the other two vehicles. EFE