A New York transit bus was hijacked early Thursday by a man armed with a BB gun, according to police.

The alleged hijacker, who the New York Police Department identified as a 44-year-old man, told the bus driver that he was being chased. The alleged hijacker held a gun at the bus driver and demanded he continue driving. The firearm was later determined to be a BB gun, which is not considered a deadly weapon.

The bus driver opened all the doors to evacuate the bus. All of the passengers were reportedly unharmed.

After driving the bus a block, the bus driver escaped by jumping out of the driver-side window. The hijacker then took control of the bus and later crashed it into a utility pole near an elementary school.

The alleged hijacker tried to flee the scene. Police said at a press conference that the suspect was arrested across the street from the crash.

The incident occurred in the borough of Queens at about 7:20 a.m. ET.

Police commended the actions of the bus driver, who served with the Metro Transit Authority for 21 years. The bus driver and alleged hijacker were taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries.

Several nearby customers reported power outages as a result of the utility pole damage.

Police has obtained and reviewed video footage of the incident and charges are currently pending against the hijacking suspect.

Frank Annicaro, MTA's Senior Vice President of the New York City Department of Buses, spoke at the conference thanking the responding agencies.

"We're very thankful that there were no serious injuries to our passengers or our bus operator," Annicaro said.

The hijacking comes amid rising concerns about the safety of MTA subways, which have experienced a series of attacks recently including a gunfire and smoke bomb attack in early May.

State and city officials have been introducing efforts to curb crime on public transit including the installation of cameras in every MTA subway car.