Knife-wielding male hijacks Chicago bus in middle of night. But wise driver outwits crook and pulls off daring escape.

A knife-wielding male hijacked a Chicago Transit Authority bus in the middle of the night earlier this week, but the wise bus operator used her experience and wits to pull off a daring escape.

Police said the suspect was aboard a southbound No. 53 CTA bus just before 2:40 a.m. Wednesday in the 2400 block of North Pulaski Road in the Belmont Gardens neighborhood when he pulled out a knife and demanded the bus not stop, WLS-TV reported.

‘She could see him through the mirror, what he was doing, jabbing with the knife, like he was going to stab her.’

The bus driver, a 57-year-old woman, tripped a silent alarm, the CTA told the station.

After a bus supervisor located the bus, the bus driver escaped out a window in the 900 block of North Clark Street, police told WLS.

The bus traveled about 6.5 miles after leaving its normal route, the station said.

The suspect got off the bus and ran into Washington Park, WLS said, adding that police took him into custody in the 100 block of East Chestnut Street just before 3:20 a.m.

The bus driver’s union leaders described what they saw on the bus’ surveillance video, the station said.

“She could see him through the mirror, what he was doing, jabbing with the knife like he was going to stab her, but only doing it in a motion where she could see through the mirror,” Michelle Townsend, second vice president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241, told WLS.

The station said it’s unclear what the suspect wanted.

Police said charges are pending, and no injuries were reported, WLS added.

RELATED: 7 females, 2 males accused of ganging up on, beating up train passenger in Chicago

Acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen said there was a 47% drop in serious crime across the transit system compared to last year, the station reported, adding that buses saw a 40% drop.

Leerhsen added to WLS that Chicago police officers’ hours patrolling the transit system have increased by 75% since December, especially during evening and overnight hours.

In March, Cook County Sheriff’s officers also began patrols, the station said.

WLS said the increased security comes after President Donald Trump threatened funding due to violent attacks in the CTA system — including one last November when Lawrence Reed allegedly set a woman on fire on the Blue Line.

The station added that violent crimes across the CTA system — including stations and platforms — “remain at a high level, with 779 violent crimes committed in a 12-month period between April of last year and this year.”

The CTA over the summer will launch a pilot program featuring violence interrupters and crisis intervention specialists who hope to help stop crime before it happens, WLS reported.

One person walking out of the Red Line’s Roosevelt station Wednesday weighed in on CTA safety, the station said: “It’s a traveling hotel. You know what I’m saying. It is dangerous.”

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