WATCH: Jarring dashcam footage shows hero cop running to save toddler on side of very busy highway

A Naperville, Illinois, police officer is receiving viral attention after his department released jarring dashcam footage showing him stopping his patrol car on a busy highway last month to rescue a toddler running on the side of the highway.

What happened?

The dashcam footage shows Sgt. Anthony Mannino stop his patrol car on the right side of a busy highway, just behind where the young boy is running. Motorists, apparently unaware of the child, pass by at high speeds. One large truck passes just feet away from the child, who the officer describes to dispatchers as about 1-year-old.

Once Mannino stops his car, he runs after the boy, shouting "come here." However, the boy keeps running, forcing Mannino into a full sprint to catch up.

"You’re OK, you’re OK," Mannino tells the boy once he finally catches up. Mannino then tells dispatchers he would begin looking for the boy's parents. The last comment heard in the video is Mannino asking the boy his name.

According to the Naperville Police Department, which posted the footage to its Facebook page Monday afternoon, the boy "escaped his mother's watchful eye."

As a result of his quick-thinking response, Naperville PD awarded the sergeant with the department's Life Saving Award on June 7, the Facebook post said.

Watch the footage below: