SHENANDOAH, Texas — The body camera of Officer Patrick Reade was recording when he sprinted into action after receiving an urgent call about an 11-year-old girl found wandering in the main lanes of I-45, just before the busy afternoon traffic on October 17.

“Stop! Stop! I’ll wait here, just come talk to me,” Reade is heard saying to the girl in the footage provided to KHOU 11.

In an exclusive interview, Reade reflected, “It was about being in the right place at the right time. Luckily, I was able to make what I hope was the right decision.”

Authorities reported that the girl had jumped out of her mother’s vehicle as they were turning into a hospital for mental health care. She then proceeded to cross the feeder lanes and walk against traffic, heading toward the overpass at Highway 242.

“I’m not going to do anything, I’m not going to do anything,” said Reade during the encounter. “I want to talk, come here, you’re not in trouble, you’re not in trouble.”

The girl, who’s blurred in the video to protect her identity, got on top of the guardrail with her feet dangling as Reade pleaded with her.

“Trying to be a little more empathetic and sympathetic, I think, may have delayed her slightly,” Reade told us.

It eventually ended as Reade inched closer and closer.

“I’m begging you, please come here and talk to me,” said Reade just before quickly pulling the girl to safety.

“But it was really that moment when she looked away, where I tried to seize that opportunity and grab a hold of her,” Reade told us. “She wanted me to let her go, but that wasn’t going to happen. Unfortunately, that was the kind of state of mind she was in.”

He and others thought about how things could have ended.

“Very, very tragically,” said Shenandoah Police Lt. Courtney Pullen.

Pullen credited Reade, a 10-year department veteran, for remaining calm in a very tense situation.

“In a split moment, he acted swiftly and was able to save her,” said Pullen. “His professionalism and his tactics were excellent.”

Like in many cases involving kids, Reade said he couldn’t help but think of his own children in that moment.

“I hope that she gets the treatment that she needs, she’s able to make a full recovery, and hopefully go on to live a long, happy life,” said Reade about the girl.