It was a normal day for Sergeant Anthony Mannino as he was driving down a Chicago highway – until he saw a startling situation developing on the side of the road.

Initially, Mannino thought that the moving thing in the right lane was a stray dog – but then he discovered that it was actually 1-year-old boy who was running down the road without any awareness for the speeding vehicles that were dangerously close to his path.

Terrified by the scene, Mannino hurriedly stopped his vehicle in traffic, got out of his cruiser, and chased after the boy. Once the 24-year-old police veteran managed to catch up to the toddler, he befriended the youngster, scooped him up into his arms, and led him back to the cruiser.