A Cleveland bicyclist pedaling across the country is in intensive care after she was hit by a vehicle traveling 65 miles per hour Sunday afternoon on U.S. 2 near West Glacier.

Montana Highway Patrol Trooper John Underwood said the woman was hit from behind by a passenger car around 4:30 p.m. as both vehicles headed eastbound roughly 2 miles outside Coram.

The bicyclist was Shelli Snyder, co-founder of Bike Cleveland.

“It’s unclear at this point whether she’ll survive her injuries or not,” Underwood said Monday.

He said it’s possible the bicyclist was using the left lane to turn onto Belton Stage Road when she was hit at highway speed by the car. The woman was wearing a helmet and safety gear, including an orange slow-moving triangle attached to her bike, Underwood said.

Three Rivers Ambulance transported her to the Intensive Care Unit at Kalispell Regional Medical Center. Coram-West Glacier Fire Department also responded to the scene.

Bike Cleveland executive director Jacob VanSickle said Snyder suffered a fractured skull along with arm and leg injuries. She had surgery Sunday evening and was in critical condition in a medically induced coma.

VanSickle said Snyder was moving to Seattle and was using her trip as a fundraiser for Bike Cleveland.

Underwood said the driver of the car was a Montana man headed to West Glacier.

The collision is still under investigation by Montana Highway Patrol.

Later Sunday, a separate accident in Hungry Horse landed a 73-year-old woman in Kalispell Regional’s Intensive Care Unit after she was hit by a car while trying to cross U.S. 2.

Trooper Andrew Horton said the woman was hit while walking across the four lanes of traffic around 8:20 p.m. to get to her motel.

“She walked out in front of a vehicle, which applied emergency brakes and swerved into the right lane in an attempt to avoid the female, but still the pedestrian was struck,” Horton said.

He said the vehicle was traveling around 45 mph when its driver first saw her, moved into the next lane and tried to stop. There were no crosswalks on the section of the highway the woman attempted to cross.

The ALERT air ambulance transported the woman to the hospital. Flathead County Sheriff’s deputies and Hungry Horse Fire Department also responded to the scene.

While the woman was hit at roughly 40 mph, Horton said her injuries didn’t appear to be life-threatening.

“Amazingly enough, for the type of crash and age of the pedestrian, the injuries are not as bad as what you would expect,” he said. “There are some broken bones in the lower portion of body, but not severe organ or head damage, which is good.”

Horton said the incident is still under investigation, but he doesn’t believe drugs or alcohol were involved in the collision.

Reporter Katheryn Houghton may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at khoughton@dailyinterlake.com.