A 34-year-old South African, who had allegedly drove into a vehicle which had developed a mechanical fault along the Beit Bridge-Bulawayo highway on Saturday evening, was arrested at the Beit Bridge Border Post in Zimbabwe on Sunday evening.

The driver of the stationary vehicle, which the South African’s vehicle had crashed into, was instantly killed in the accident.

The Zimbabwean Police spokesman for Matabeleland South province, Assistant Inspector Trust Ndlovu, said the incident occurred on Sunday night at around 21:30 along Beitbridge-Bulawayo highway. The suspect was driving back to South Africa from Bulawayo.

“The victim was pushing his car, a white Mazda bakkie, which had developed a mechanical problem, together with three other people when the South African-registered car, a Toyota Corolla, emerged from behind. The South African driver had encroached onto the on-coming traffic lane in a bid to avoid the broken-down bakkie. “However, another car then approached from the opposite direction, prompting him (the South African) to swerve back into his lane and, in the process, he lost control of his vehicle and rammed into the bakkie which was being pushed,” Ndlovu said. The bakkie was damaged extensively.

After colliding with the bakkie, the suspect did not stop and the police were then alerted about the incident. They subsequently launched a high-speed chase. “Soon after we were informed that the suspect had fled from the scene of the accident, our officers quickly launched a high-speed chase and the suspect was intercepted at the border post as he was just about to cross into South Africa,” said the police spokesman.

The suspect is currently in police custody and will appear in court soon to face charges of contravening a section of the Road Traffic Act. “The suspect should be appearing in court soon for contravening the traffic regulations because, under the Road Traffic Act, he was supposed to stop after the accident and wait for the police to arrive at the scene to take down details. We also suspect that he could have been speeding,” Ndlovu said.

The suspect was traveling alone.

Ndlovu said the other two passengers in the bakkie were not injured. The deceased was taken to Beitbridge District Hospital mortuary for a postmortem examination.