'Don't you die on me!': Policeman saves truck driver's life in dashcam video

The footage has gone viral since it was posted on social media

Trooper Eric Devers

One of them was a truck-driver whose vehicle veered off the road down and plunged down a 60-foot embankment. The other was the police officer who saved his life.

John Depue was ‘reunited’ on television over the weekend with Ohio State Highway Patrol Officer Eric Devers as video footage emerged of the 12 minutes the policeman spent fighting to ensure the trucker did not die.

“Keep breathing," Mr Devers can be heard saying on the recording as he counts out chest compressions. “Don’t you die. Don’t you die on me. Come on.”

Eventually, a passing motorist comes to help the policeman, who continued to perform life-saving manoeuvres until paramedics arrived at the scene.

Mr Depue was then taken to the Wilson Memorial Hospital, near Columbus, Ohio, where he subsequently made a full recovery.

At the weekend the two men appeared on Fox News, both by satellite.

“I was able to step up to that truck with him, he was taking very, very little, gasping breaths, hardly like he was alive at all,” said Mr Devers.

“Our academy is so extensive in its training that at that point my mind just essentially went on autopilot. I just did what I knew I had to do.”

Mr Devers said he has amazed by the number of times the video footage had been watched, after Ohio police posted it on their social media page.

“The amount of outpouring of support for all of law enforcement, not just myself, has been amazing,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Depue kept his message simple: “How can you say thank you for saving your life? I definitely think he was my angel that day.”