Bystanders have been forced to lift a car off a woman after it mounted the kerb and ran her and her baby over in Newcastle, in the NSW Hunter region.

A police spokeswoman said the vehicle reversed into a parked car on the corner of Perkins and Hunter streets in the Newcastle CBD and then bounced off, mounted the kerb and smashed into the front of a cafe.

A woman walking on the footpath with her child was struck by the car.

“She was trapped under the car and suffered head and leg injuries,” a NSW Police Force spokeswoman said.

Several people helped lift the car off the woman.

Paramedics treated the woman, aged in her late 20s, at the scene before taking her to John Hunter Hospital for treatment to several broken bones. The infant was not hurt during the crash.

Three other people were treated by paramedics at the scene and also taken to hospital with minor injuries.

The driver of the car, aged in his 70s, as well as a number of witnesses will be interviewed by police.

The driver was taken to hospital to provide a blood and urine test.