A police officer has written a heartfelt open letter to a young teen caught driving at 100mph, urging him: “Slow down. Please. You are not invincible. I promise.”

The letter, which has received more than 100,000 shares since being published by Ohio’s North Ridgeville Police Department on Facebook.

It is addressed to an 18-year-old who was stopped doing 100mph in a 65mph zone.

The letter reads: “To the 18 year old kid I stopped on SR 10, you’re welcome. I’d like to believe that you were minutes away from creating an unspeakable Christmas tragedy when I stopped you.

“If not only killing yourself, you were well on your way to killing some innocent person who was minding their own business doing nothing else wrong but being in front of you.

“You said you didn’t realize how fast you were going. That’s a lie. You may not realize when you’re doing 45 in a 35 but you are fully aware of every mile per hour at 100,” he added.

To the 18 year old kid I stopped on SR 10,You’re welcome. I’d like to believe that you were minutes away from creating…

Posted by North Ridgeville Police Department on Sunday, December 16, 2018

“You realize it with every bump you hit. You realize it as you pass cars so fast the wind moves your car.

“You realize it every time you drift over the line and when you move the wheel the car reacts a lot quicker than you’re used to. You absolutely realized it.”

The letter continued by speaking of the officer’s experience of “dozens of stories of dead and broken 18 year old bodies that I’ve pulled from cars”, and said: “They thought they were invincible too. They weren’t.”

The post serves as a reminder of the increased risk of deaths on the roads as the festive season gets under way.

The officer added to the anonymous teen: “You seemed like a really nice kid who made a bad decision.

“I don’t feel bad about this ticket at all. In fact, I’m proud of it. I hope you’re paying it off for months and with every payment you think about how it wasn’t worth it.

“I hope you slow down. I hope that when your mom tells you to ‘drive safe’ you make a promise to her, and yourself, that you will. I hope you can envision me sitting in your kitchen telling your screaming mother that you have been killed.”