A bungling driver hit reverse by mistake and crashed through a car park barrier - plunging into a shopping mall below.

The shopper was taking Christmas gifts home when he accidentally accelerated the vehicle while in the wrong gear in Zone 11, Guatemala, on November 17.

CCTV shows the vehicle plunging from the seventh floor of the building and landing below next to a Christmas tree. The motorist was arrested at the scene on suspicion of reckless driving. One person was later pronounced dead.

'I have nothing more to say to you, just to ask for forgiveness,' the young man said to local media reporters at the scene.

A judge transferred the case to a criminal court on duty when it was confirmed that a person had died as a result of the accident. The driver was remanded in custody while the investigating continues.