Stephen J. Chute, 38, arrested for DWI, after crashing into the same car three times on Chestnut Street in Florence.

Police charged a 38-year-old Florence man with drunken driving Wednesday night after he allegedly hit another motorist three times in the area of Chestnut Street and Bridge Road. No injuries were reported in the three-part accident which occurred shortly after 6:20 p.m. Police Lt. Jody Kasper said the it began when the suspect, Stephen J. Chute, of 57 Chestnut St., Florence, rear-ended a vehicle that had stopped in front of him. “Instead of stopping he decided to flee down Chestnut Street,” Kasper said. The driver of the struck vehicle followed Chute, who in turn pulled over to the right of the roadway. The driver pulled in front of Chute, expecting that the two would then exchange papers, Kasper said. Chute, however, opted to attempt a U-turn on Chestnut Street and struck the vehicle two more times, once again in the rear and once in the driver’s side door, Kasper said. Neighbors, alerted by the commotion, called the police. Kasper said Chute had three prior drunken driving charges, two of them from out-of-state. The out-of-state charges could not be confirmed prior to Chute’s arraignment and so the Wednesday drunken driving charge was reduced to a second offense. Chute was also charged with leaving the scene of a property damage accident and negligent operation of a motor vehicle. Chute denied the charges during his arraignment in District Court and was released on his own recognizance.