South Auckland restaurant car smash: 'It was like an earthquake hit us'

A person inside a South Auckland Subway restaurant says there was a horrendous noise as a car careened through plate glass windows and ended up inside the store.

Staff and customers cowered as the vehicle mounted the footpath, smashing through the front of the popular sandwich eatery in Manurewa about 10.15am.

Luckily no one was hurt in the accident, which is believed to have happened during an ill-fated parking manoeuvre.

A Subway restaurant in Manurewa, South Auckland, is badly damaged after a car crashed into the store. Photo / Supplied

A worker on duty when the car ended up at least two metres inside the Subway restaurant said the incident had left metal frames buckled and the store covered in glass.

"It's really bad. One side of the store is completely broken in," said the woman, who did not wish to be named.

"We believe they've accidentally pressed the accelerator instead of the brake and driven about two metres inside the store."

She said everyone had been left shaken by the ordeal.

The worker initially thought the store had been hit by a tremor.

"It felt like we had been hit by an earthquake," she said.

"It was just so loud and so shaky."

The Subway restaurant is now closed while the damage is fixed. Photo / Brett Phibbs

She said after the car came to a rest, the driver managed to reverse out through the mangled panes.

While there were several customers dining in the store at the time of the accident, all were all safe and out of harm's way, she said.

The restaurant is now closed, with the owner and property manager taking care of the extensive repairs.