A 15-year-old boy and 14-year-old girl walking across Calistoga Road were hit Wednesday evening by a driver who apparently did not see them in the crosswalk, police said.
It is the third serious accident in a Santa Rosa crosswalk in five weeks.
Police did not immediately release the identities of the teens, who were being treated at Memorial Hospital.
The boy was listed in critical condition with multiple injuries while the girl suffered only bumps and bruises.
Sgt. Doug Schlief said the accident was under investigation and that it was premature to determine whether the driver of the Mitsubishi SUV that struck the teens was at fault. He said the driver was an adult male, but he had no further information.
The car was headed southbound on Calistoga Road when it hit the two teens, who were eastbound in the crosswalk that leads to Marit Drive near the St. Francis Shopping Center.
Investigators closed Calistoga Road between Highway 12 and Dupont Drive for about four hours after the 6 p.m. accident.
Less than three weeks ago, 15-year-old Michelle Cordova was struck and killed in a West College Avenue crosswalk in west Santa Rosa when a driver apparently did not see her in the middle of the street. Schlief, who also investigated that accident, said it did not appear the 22-year-old driver of the car that struck Cordova was distracted
Both accidents happened shortly after 6 p.m., a time when it was dusk, but not dark.
On Dec. 30, a 50-year-old Santa Rosa man was struck and killed at the intersection of Highway 12 and Jack London Drive in Santa Rosa. The man reportedly was walking or running in the marked crosswalk at 11:35 p.m. when he was struck by a Toyota Land Cruiser driven by a 70-year-old Santa Rosa man.
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