Seoul, Sep 20 (IANS): A car driven by a man in his 70s smashed into a hamburger restaurant in northern Seoul on Friday, killing one passerby and injuring five others, including the driver himself, officials said.

The crash occurred at 10:32 a.m. local time near Mia Station when the Hyundai Genesis sedan suddenly dashed from a side road into a six-lane main road, hurdled the guardrail set up at the centre of the road before crashing straight into the hamburger store, Yonhap news agency reported.

A passerby was struck and taken to a hospital in a state of cardiac arrest but later died, police said.

Four other pedestrians who were hit by shards of glass from the crash were also under treatment for injuries, and the driver himself sustained serious injuries.

The glass covering the front part of the store was entirely shattered from the impact of the crash.

Police believe the driver was not under the influence of alcohol at the time of the accident, and they are looking into the exact cause of the crash.