The family of a 22-year-old woman who was in a car accident sat by her bedside for weeks before they realized the woman in the bed was not actually their daughter - it was another young blonde-haired woman who had been involved in the same accident.

Their own daughter, Laura VanRyn, had died in the accident and was already buried, reports the AP.

The VanRyn family had been told their daughter was injured in the accident and the Cerak family had been told their daughter, Whitney, had died. It was the other way around.

The VanRyns erroneously believed the girl in the coma was their daughter because swelling and broken bones distorted the woman's face.

It is not clear who is responsible for the mix-up or how it happened. The VanRyns said their daughter and Cerak, 18, bore an "uncanny resemblance."

Cerak is regaining consciousness.