PERSON: Whitney Cerak Wheeler

On April 26, 2006, a Taylor University van carrying nine students and staff members collided with a tractor-trailer being driven by Robert F. Spencer on Interstate 69 in Indiana. Five people riding in the van died at the crash scene: Elizabeth Smith, Laurel Erb, Bradley Larson, and Monica Felver, as well as a young blonde woman the coroner identified as Whitney Cerak. A similar looking woman who was unable to communicate was identified as Laura van Ryn. For several weeks, the van Ryn family kept a bedside vigil over the patient they believed to be their daughter.[10] However, into five weeks of hospitalization the identity of the surviving woman began to be questioned. She was found to be Whitney Cerak, not Laura van Ryn.

Some physical similarities existed between the two women but the severity of the injuries, which included severe head trauma and the immediate inability to communicate led local government officials to mis-identify the casualties, the hospital to carry through with the unfortunate action and caused both families to respond in a manner appropriate to the situation of each casualty: Cerak was taken care of by the van Ryn family in the belief that she was their daughter. Meanwhile, Laura was interred in a marked grave at a funeral with 1400 people in attendance. Five weeks passed before incidents arose that caused suspicion about identity: she made comments about things and people that that were inconsistent with facts pertaining to Laura; and a university roommate also reported some physical discrepancies. “Laura” confirmed that it was ‘Whitney Cerak’ that had survived when asked by hospital staff to write down the patient’s name, which was then confirmed by dental records. The tragic mix-up appeared to have been caused by the similarities of appearance of Cerak and van Ryn, and the confusion at the crash scene. Neither family spoke publicly about the incident for nearly two years.