HANSVILLE — Driving has become a risky business in North Kitsap as of late.

With four major collisions resulting in four deaths since December 2004, and grassroots efforts to improve some of the dangerous intersections in the area, many motorists are still not paying attention to their driving.

The latest accident, which occurred Tuesday on Hansville Road, is no exception and resulted in two local teenagers being seriously injured.

The fifth major collision in three months took place just after 7 p.m. March 8 at the Sunnywoods Lane/Gathering Place Church intersection. The crash involved five Kingston teenagers and one Hansville resident.

The five teenagers were traveling in an older model Ford Escort, which was pulling out of the parking lot of the church and turning left onto Hansville Road.

Kitsap County Sheriff’s Office Deputy and public information officer Scott Wilson reported that the traffic investigator on the scene said the 18-year-old driver looked to his left and saw a Jeep Cherokee coming northbound but thought he had enough time to turn. He then looked right, saw it was clear and then proceeded to turn left.

Just as the Escort cleared the center line, the Cherokee, driven by a 55-year-old Hansville woman, collided with the driver’s side of the Escort, Wilson said.

Of the six people involved, four were transported to Harrison Hospital for injuries. The remaining two, Kyle Sizemore, a junior at North Kitsap High School and Josh Morton, a senior at NKHS, were airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle with serious injuries.

Sizemore was seated behind the driver and Morton was in the middle of the back seat. It is unknown if they, or any of the other Escort’s passengers or driver, were wearing seatbelts, however, Wilson said Sizemore took the brunt of the force in the collision. The woman in the Cherokee was wearing her seatbelt, said North Kitsap Fire & Rescue public information officer Michele Laboda.

As of Friday morning, Sizemore was in “very, very critical” condition and as of Thursday afternoon, Morton was in critical but stable condition, said NKSD community relations coordinator Chris Case. Both are in intensive care.

No alcohol or any other substances were found in either boy’s blood, Case said, but deputies believe drugs or alcohol may have been involved in the incident, Wilson said.

“We have reason to believe that both may have been a factor in the cause of the collision,” he said, noting that the 18-year-old driver was arrested and blood was drawn for testing.

One of the teenagers who fled the scene for reasons unknown went to a nearby house and called a family member, who then called 911. The teen eventually returned to the scene.

The Sizemore family is requesting no visitors and no phone calls.

“What (his mother) primarily wants people to do is pray,” Case said.

Concerned residents can also donate blood to local blood banks to help replenish the more than 30 units that has been used to treat Sizemore, Case added. People can also donate to a medical fund in Morton’s name at any branch of Kitsap Bank.

This accident tops off a fatal few months for North Kitsap: Arlone Turner of Suquamish died Dec. 14 in a car accident at Bond and Gunderson Road; Sue Brydon of Hansville died Jan. 21 after a Jan. 10 car accident at Salish Lane and Hansville Road; Hansville resident Robert Butler, 28, was killed Feb. 3 while riding his bicycle along Bond Road, near Gunderson Road; and Miles Pendergraft, 17, of Hansville, died Feb. 21 after his car collided with another vehicle on Bond near Rova Road.

Washington State Patrol public information officer Trooper Brian George said there have been more than 200 accidents on the state thoroughfares in the North End between Jan. 2004 and Feb. 15, 2005, four of which were fatalities.

The Poulsbo Police Department often receives complaints of teens speeding on Mesford Road, Caldart Avenue and Forest Rock Lane and teenagers who are trying to take the speed bumps too fast, said PPD Sergeant Bill Playter.

Major accidents have not been a problem within the Poulsbo area other than fender benders at State Route 305 and Bond Road, he said, noting the crashes usually involve adults coming from the North End.

While KCSO deputies are called to accidents at a variety of busy intersections and on stretches of roads in the North End, some of the more problematic areas include the three main intersections on Hansville Road — the two Hansville/Little Boston roads intersections and The Point Casino entrance — and Miller Bay Road.

Accidents occur for a variety of reasons, Wilson said, including drivers not paying attention, falling asleep at the wheel, tailgating, speeding, not making a full stop and the big one, alcohol and drugs.

“Driving is a dangerous business,” Wilson said. “You have got to pay attention to what you are doing.”