A 40-year-old South African man was killed in an accident along the Beitbridge-Masvingo road in Zimbabwe after his car veered off the road while trying to avoid a stray donkey, police have said.

Local police spokesperson Insp Moyo said the incident occurred on Sunday, January 20, at around 20:00 near Bubi Village, outside Beitbridge town.

The victim, who was driving a Toyota Hilux, was coming from Masvingo and heading towards Beitbridge en route to South Africa. He was coming from a holiday. "The deceased, who was a South African national, was driving towards Beitbridge when he spotted a donkey along the road. On trying to avoid hitting the animal, he lost control of the vehicle, resulting in its veering off the road. It subsequently overturned and he died on the spot," he said.

Moyo said the victim was identified as Mr Stephanus van Rensburg of Nelspruit in Mpumalanga and his body was taken to the local mortuary. "We suspect the victim was speeding and therefore, as police, we would like to urge motorists to desist from that tendency of speeding, especially at night largely because our roads are very narrow and there are a lot of stray animals that graze along the major highways," said the police spokesperson.