Police officers fatally shot the driver of a Honda that plowed through the Chinese consulate in San Francisco and into the lobby of the building's visa office on Monday, city police said.

"I don't know how many people were inside the visa office at the time of the collision," San Francisco Police Department spokesperson Sergeant Kathryn Winters told Reuters at a news briefing hours later.

"When officers arrived here on scene, they found the vehicle had come to rest inside the lobby of the Chinese Consulate. Officers entered, made contact with the suspect and an officer-involved shooting occurred," Winters said.

"The suspect was later pronounced deceased at the hospital. This is an open and active investigation."