A car crashed into a Kakanui cafe on Friday night about 10.45pm causing considerable damage to the building and sending three people to the hospital.
Half of the vehicle was inside The Coast Cafe on Beach Rd when police arrived at the scene, a police spokeswoman said.
St John South Island spokesman Gerard Campbell said three patients with moderate injuries were transported by ambulance to Oamaru Hospital.
No age or gender details were available.
Police could not immediately confirm whether the driver of the car was spoken to at the scene.