Watch: Police Revive Driver Who Overdosed On Heroin On Interstate

With heroin use and deaths rising in the United States, the Connecticut State Police posted a video on its Facebook page to warn viewers away from the drug, especially while driving. In the video, officers pull an inert man from a pickup truck that had stopped on the interstate in Hartford, Connecticut, in a way that disrupted traffic.

The video does not show the full incident, but the lengthy description written by the police filled in more details. Troopers showed up after getting reports about the truck. Upon further inspection, they found an unresponsive man slumped over with his foot on the brake and the car still in drive. Police lodged a truck of their own between the truck with the man inside and road to make sure it did not blast into traffic.

They broke the driver side window, put the car in park and found that the man had symptoms of a heroin overdose. Revival efforts were successful and the man was awake and speaking shortly thereafter. The purpose of the video, according to Connecticut State Police, was to demonstrate how dangerous heroin use can be, both to its user and those around them.

The United States is largely considered to be going through an opioid crisis right now, defined by dangerous overuse of both prescription drugs and illegal substances like heroin. Deaths related to heroin use, in particular, have risen sharply in recent years. From 2002 to 2016, the number of annual heroin-related deaths rose by more than 500 percent, CNN reported in September.

Heroin, like other opiates, depresses the user’s heart rate and breathing, which can have fatal effects in large doses, or when combined with other substances with similar effects. DrugAbuse.com recommended immediately calling 911 if someone has possibly overdosed on heroin.