Car smashes into Starbucks on Gold Coast

Five people have been taken to hospital after a car smashed into a Starbucks cafe on the Gold Coast this afternoon.

Paramedics were called to the Starbucks on Surf Parade in Broadbeach at 1.45pm after a purple 2013 Mitsubishi Mirage hatchback mounted the kerb and crashed into the cafe.

Witnesses told 9News the car crashed through a bollard and travelled 20 metres across the sidewalk before ploughing into the shopfront, which was extensively damaged.

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Police are investigating how the car got through the bollard, which is designed to prevent this kind of crash.

It's believed the 83-year-old male driver hit the accelerator by accident.

He's currently assisting police.

"It appears that the male's vehicle's rolled forward, he stepped back into the vehicle to put the brake on and it appears he's hit the accelerator," Matt Howard from Queensland Police said.

"It is quite amazing that people only sustained minor injuries when you consider how far the vehicle travelled from the roadway to where it stopped."

Seven people were assessed at the scene, five of whom were taken to hospital in a stable condition.