Innocent diners have been thrown into the air as a car lost control and ploughed onto a footpath in Melbourne’s north-east.

The terrifying crash unfolded in a split second on Wednesday afternoon at shops along Watsonia Road, when a Camry hurtled onto the footpath directly into outdoor diners.

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“I was at the back and then I heard boom and then I came out and the car is already on the footpath and my table, everything gone,” Bakers Choice’s Raymond Duong told 7NEWS.

Security footage captured the horrifying moment two women were thrown to the ground, while another was hit by the car and became trapped as it smashed into a neighbouring cafe.

“We just heard a whole lot of screaming and like you heard something smash and we’ve come running out from the barber shop next door and unfortunately there was an old lady just trapped on a car a little bit underneath here and another lady in front of the bakery on his side,” A-Team Cafe’s Tony Rabie said.

Another woman walking past appeared to have escaped the path of destruction by centimetres.

In the seconds that followed, other diners and workers raced to help before emergency crews arrived at the popular strip of shops.

One woman was taken to the Royal Melbourne Hospital with serious injuries, while the other was taken to the nearby Austin Hospital. Both are in a stable condition.

The driver and the two injured women are regulars at the shops. The driver had just purchased a couple of pasties from the bakery and got into her car parked in the spot when the crash occurred seconds later.

“She was in a bit of shock that she had done it and then everyone helped her as well and it was just an accident,” Rabie said.

The driver is not expected to face charges.