SAN JOSE  (AP) — Loved ones said this week that they are delighted that a Northern California motorist found unconscious is alive and awake after spending a week in the woods when his truck overturned near a busy freeway.

Michael Sanchez Jr. is increasingly alert but he still can't talk, his sister Priscilla Sanchez told the San Jose Mercury News (http://bit.ly/KEbQtg) on Thursday.

She called her 25-year-old brother's recovery miraculous and said he recently transferred out of an intensive care unit at Regional Medical Center in San Jose.

"He is a miracle," she said. "With everything he went through, he pulled through fast."

She recalled that it was just days ago that her brother's outlook appeared bleak after going without food and water for a week. Then she saw signs that he was improving when she asked her brother if he recognized her.

I said, 'Blink one for no, blink two for yes,'" she said. Michael Sanchez blinked, and blinked again.

The California Highway Patrol couldn't find Sanchez immediately after the single-vehicle crash near a Highway 101 off-ramp in south San Jose on May 8. They said there was no indication at the time of their search that anyone was at risk.

A week later, police searching the area for clues found Sanchez in a near-comatose state in a dense thicket of brush and trees about 50 feet from where his truck was found and subsequently impounded.

Priscilla Sanchez said she remains both skeptical and vigilant about why her brother wasn't found during an initial search of the scene.

"I have a million questions and I have no answers," she said.