Police say they found several beer cans scattered around the wreckage of a boat, with some of the people on board admitting they had been drinking alcohol just before the boat crashed onto rocks on Folly Point late Friday night.

Five people were taken to the hospital, with one man suffering serious injuries. It took about an hour and a half for rescuers to carry the man off the slippery, seaweed-covered rocks.

James W. Knowlton, 52, of 28 Revere St., Gloucester, was brought to Beverly Hospital and later transferred to Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center in Boston, where he was listed in good condition last night.

The others on board the boat were taken to local hospitals.

Police said the boat appeared to be a total loss, with large holes punched into the hull.

Dustin Ketchopulos, 33, of 56 Stockholm Ave., Rockport, was driving the 25-foot sports boat with five passengers on board when it crashed behind the Seaside Cemetery off Route 127.

Passengers blamed the foggy weather, saying they couldn't see the rocks in front of them until it was too late. When the boat crashed, Knowlton was thrown out of the boat, landing on the rocks about 10 feet away.

Residents in the neighborhood heard a loud crash, followed by people yelling for help. They called 911 at 10:45 p.m.

Patrolman Mark Foote was the first to arrive. He ran down a path through the brush, in complete darkness, in order to reach the wreckage. When he got to the shoreline, he saw two men out on the rocks in front of the boat. One of them was calling for him to hurry.

After scrambling across the slippery rocks, falling several times on the way, he found Knowlton being tended to by another passenger who had been on the boat, Peter Hickey, 37, of 163 Main St., Rockport.

Knowlton was conscious, though badly hurt, complaining of severe pain on the left side of his rib cage. He also had two cuts on his head.

Police and firefighters were partly in the water as they tended to Knowlton, according to Foote's report. The officer called the conditions "very dangerous."

Rescuers very slowly, and very carefully, carried Knowlton across the rocks, stopping several times to replace tired rescue workers with rested ones.

"It was a long haul," Foote wrote in his report.

Firefighters had wanted to call for a MedFlight to take Knowlton directly into Boston for treatment, but the helicopters were not flying due to the fog that night.

Others on the boat were also hurt. Ketchopulos suffered a head injury and was taken to Beverly Hospital, as was passenger Jacobus Rekelhoff.

The hospital reported to police in the hours after the crash that both patients had been stabilized.

Passengers Carrie A. Eaton, 29, of 13 Wall St., and Kyle F. Conant, 24, of 1078R Washington St., were taken to Addison Gilbert Hospital. Both admitted to police that they had been drinking alcohol, according to Foote's report. Foote found beer cans in the water around the boat and on the nearby rocks, he said in his report.

Hickey was the only one on board the boat who did not complain of injuries. He refused medical treatment and walked away on his own, though Foote noted in his report that Hickey appeared to be under the influence of alcohol.

After he walked off, Hickey and another man, Harold Wentworth, 30, of 28 Revere St., caused a disturbance by threatening a news photographer, according to police. Hickey pushed the photographer, according to police, while Wentworth, whose father was among those injured in the crash, told the photographer not to take any more pictures or he would "wrap the camera around his neck," according to the police report.

Charges were filed against both men for being disorderly.

Police Lt. Joe Aiello released a statement over the weekend, praising the rescue efforts.

"To all involved, well done," he wrote.

However, Phil Bouchie, vice president of the firefighters union, criticized the response time, saying the closing of the Bay View fire station cost rescuers precious minutes, and left the department short-staffed. It took 13 minutes for firefighters to get to the scene, three times longer than the recommended response time for emergencies, he noted.

Rockport police and firefighters assisted with the rescue, using their ambulance to help bring the victims to the hospital.

Jessica Benson can be reached at jbenson@gloucestertimes.com.