A Melrose man with a history of drunk driving went on a demolition derby early this morning, smashing parked cars and playing chicken with the cops, before plunging his pickup truck into the Malden River, police said.

John Kellum, 42 — arrested on his fifth charge of drunken driving — did not have a valid driver’s license, Melrose Police Chief Michael L. Lyle said, and is facing multiple other offenses, including operating to endanger, failure to stop for police, assault and battery with motor vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident.