Officer rescues toddler running dangerously close to Highway (video)

Illinois police officer Sgt. Anthony Mannino was captured on his car's dashboard camera rescuing a toddler running alone on a highway last month.

The police footage was uploaded on Facebook and showed Sgt. Mannino driving through Route 59. He spotted a young child running on the side of the highway and immediately called for help on his radio.

The child was seen running south along the right-turn lane. The toddler seemed to speed towards the center of the highway and passed by a truck just a few feet away.

Mannino described the child as a 'one-year-old boy' on his radio and got out of his car as soon as possible screaming 'hey' at the little boy. Fortunately, Mannino caught up with the child before he could sprint any further.

Mannino got hold of the boy and asked him how if he was okay. He also informed his colleagues on the radio that he had got hold of the child.

He looked around to find one of the toddler's parents or a guardian but could not spot anyone around. The final thing recorded in the video was Mannino asking the lost child his name.

As reported by the Naperville Police Department, the young boy had escaped his mother's sight and left the house. He managed to get on the highway on Route 59. Luckily, nobody was hurt during the incident.

Mannino was praised for his instant reaction to rescue the child and was awarded by his department with its Life Saving Award last Thursday on June 7.

The video crossed more than 200,000 views on Facebook and has received over 700 comments. Some social media followers shared their almost-fatal road experiences in the comments section.

One user, Pamela Meeker, shared that her son was an escape artist when he was 2. He was now 30 years old but gave her the occasional scare when he too was a toddler.

Another user, Brenda Nelson, shared that children running off from their parents is not actually the parents' fault. She recalled that her son took off anytime when he was a toddler.

She shared that her son was 35 now but gave her quite a few grey hairs through his antics. Read similar police stories on our Twitter account @amomama_usa.