A Massachusetts man faced a judge Monday after police say he grabbed his ex-girlfriend and ran in front of a light-duty dump truck Friday morning in Gloucester.
Michael Baker, 41, of Beverly, was arraigned in Gloucester District Court on charges of attempted murder, assault and battery, and assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. He was held without bail and will return to court on April 29.
State police said they responded to a crash around 11 a.m. Friday in the area of 951 Washington St., where Baker and his ex-girlfriend, Sarah Liporto, 40, had been struck by dump truck.
Baker was taken by medical helicopter to Brigham and Women's Hospital with serious injuries. Liporto was taken to Beverly Hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life threatening.
According to the Gloucester Daily Times, Liporto was released and is recovering at home.
According to court documents, Liporto told investigators she and Baker had been arguing inside their home over an issue with their 7-year-old daughter. They had gone outside so that they didn't argue in front of the child when Liporto said something seemed to snap with Baker.
She told authorities he stopped mid-sentence and his facial expression became "demonic" as he grabbed her in a "football maneuver" with his arms under her arms and lifted her off the ground. They were then struck by the truck.
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"He threw me in front of the truck," Liporto said repeatedly to a responding officer before she was taken to the hospital.
Court documents show that Baker claimed he didn't know what happened.
"We played in traffic, it was a bipolar episode," Baker told hospital workers later. "This is the craziest thing I have done in my 40 years of existence."
The driver remained at the scene and was cooperative with police.
