A US woman who has spent the past 20 years in a coma-like state has inexplicably awoken and can now speak, news reports said.
  
Sarah Scantlin was 18 years old when, as a pedestrian, she was injured in a hit-and-run accident that left her in a semi-vegetative condition, aware of her surroundings but unable to speak or move.
  
Since that time, she has been in a care centre in the Midwest US state of Kansas.
  
Scantlin's parents unexpectedly received a phone call last week from the nursing home where their now 38-year-old daughter resides.

However, instead of the call being about Sarah, it was actually from Sarah.
  
"Hi mum," she said to her mother.
  
The words were a shock and a joy for Scantlin's parents.
  
"There's just no words," mother Betsy Scantlin told a CBS television news show. "I've just laughed ever since because it's just so amazing."
  
Doctors said Sarah Scantlin has been improving every day since her remarkable awakening. They have no explanation for the sudden improvement in her condition.
  
Although Scantlin started making indiscernible noises a couple of years ago, she remained unresponsive except for the ability to make eye contact.