A driver from St. Peters drove more than 73 mph down residential streets in St. Charles Wednesday, nearly hit cars and pedestrians and drove into oncoming traffic while fleeing from police Wednesday, St. Charles Police said.

Police said the driver ended the car chase by bailing out while the car was in drive, causing it to plunge 20 feet down a creek bank with a passenger inside.

A St. Charles Police officer stopped Travis McClure, 21, of the 1100 block of Colby Court in St. Peters, around 7 p.m. on a routine traffic stop. McClure gave the name of a suspect who was wanted for an armed robbery in 2011, police said.

When the officer returned to his patrol car, McClure sped off and led officers on a high-speed chase through residential neighborhoods, including the Greenfield subdivision off of Country Club Road.

McClure reached speeds of more than 73 mph on residential streets, running stop signs, nearly hitting other cars by crossing the centerline into oncoming traffic multiple times, according to court documents. Police said he almost hit pedestrians who had to run from the street to avoid being hit.

Police said McClure turned onto Hue Court, a dead-end. He then drove between two houses, nearly striking a homeowner standing in his driveway. McClure drove into the backyard and bailed out, leaving the car in drive with passenger Victoria Knight, 19, inside.

The car went off the edge of the creek bed and dropped 20 feet into the creek.  McClure fled into the creek. Police called in air support and a search dog. He was arrested after air support spotted him coming out of a culvert where the creek passes under Muegge Road, near the tennis courts in Wapelhorst Park. 

McClure was charged Thursday with resisting arrest by fleeing, creating a substantial risk of injury or death.

He was on probation for burglary at the time of the chase.

In the probable cause statement, an officer wrote, “He is a danger to the community every time he flees from police.”

The passenger in the car, Knight, of the 100 block of Vanmark Way in St. Louis, also was arrested without incident. She was not seriously injured.

She is charged in municipal court with hindering arrest for helping McClure in "his attempted false identification efforts," according to the press release.

Bond was set at $30,000, cash only.

For more crime information on St. Peters Patch, see the following articles:

• Nicked: Man Steals Hundreds of Razor Blades Valued at $4,100, Police Say
• Prosecution Rests in Former St. Peters Resident's Murder Case
• St. Peters Police Seeking Man Who Lured 11-Year-Old Girls with Frisbee