Peabody teen arrested for hitting student with car

PEABODY – A Peabody High School student was arrested Monday after he allegedly struck a student with his car in the school’s parking lot.Michael Docanto, 18, of 22 Harris St., Peabody, was arrested and charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon (motor vehicle), reckless operation of a vehicle and leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury.Police spokesman Lt. Dennis Bonaiuto said Docanto allegedly performed what students refer to as a “brake stand,” in which the driver has one foot on the brake pedal while he revs the gas pedal with the other.With the tires screeching, Docanto allegedly let go of the brake and plowed into an 18-year-old male student who flew over the car’s hood.”He went airborne over the hood of the car,” Bonaiuto said.Police say the victim received minor injuries.According to Bonaiuto, police got word of the accident when the victim went into the school clinic for treatment to numerous lacerations to his legs.He says patrolman Manny Costa, the school’s resource officer, was notified and arrested Docanto around 9:30 a.m.Police say Docanto was well aware he had struck a pedestrian but decided to park his car at the opposite end of the parking lot, leaving the victim on the ground. They say Docanto went to classes as usual and didn’t check to see if the victim was OK.Docanto was arraigned Monday afternoon in Peabody District Court, where Judge James O’Leary held him on $1,000 cash bail.Docanto is due back in court Nov. 5 for a pre-trial hearing.