Mistaken identity, tells the story of how two families of accident victims dealt with the misidentification of the two young women, one of whom died. Mistaken identity recounts the true story of two college students, laura van ryn and whitney cerak one buried under the wrong name, one in. This case of mistaken identity began when whitney, laura and seven others from taylor university in indiana were heading home after working at an event 15 miles off campus. Whitney cerak and laura van ryn both went to the same college and both were in a fatal accident on a school trip. Case of mistaken identity laura and whitney the today show. The family of whitney cerak pictured initially believed she had been one of five victims killed when their van was struck by a tractor in indiana in 2006.
Whitney cerak says in mistaken identity book she still asks why she. Mistaken identity shakes two families dateline nbc. In an inconceivable mistake, whitney was mistaken for laura van ryn. Mistaken identity tells the unprecedented story of laura van ryn and whitney cerak. Two families, one survivor, unwavering hope is a bestselling nonfiction book describing an incident in which the identities of two young female casualties were confused after a vehicle crash.
The book lists its authors as don and susie van ryn. Case of mistaken identity laura and whitney the today. Weeks after accident, a twist of fate the new york times. Whitney cerak is the author of mistaken identity 4. Whitney cerak says in mistaken identity book she still. Tabb, is a nonfiction book that illustrates the remarkable events that led to two families coming together. In 2006, whitney cerak survived a horrific traffic accident that killed four others, but she was mistaken for laura van ryn, one of the fatalities who had strikingly similar looks to whitney. It was published by howard books on march 25, 2008. Popular mistaken identity books goodreads share book. For five agonizing weeks, taylor university freshman whitney cerak lay in a hospital bed, gravely injured, unable to speak.
Love in the afternoon by lisa kleypas, love letters from a duke by elizabeth boyle, someone to watch over me by lisa. Five lives were lost in a tragic car accident, and the sole survivor was rushed to the hospital, where she remained in a coma for five weeks. Taylor university remembers case of mistaken identity 10 years later. Mistaken identity, tells the story of how two families of accident victims dealt with the misidentification of the two young women, one of whom. Taylor university remembers lives lost, case of mistaken. Taylor university remembers case of mistaken identity 10. Taylor university student whitney cerak, then 18, was the lone survivor of an april 26, 2006, crash that killed four of her classmates and a school staffer. Whitney cerak, 18, had survived and had been in a rehabilitation center with the vanryns by her side.
In a widely reported incident in 2006, laura van ryn and whitney cerak, students at an evangelical college in indiana, and their families were. Four years after she was declared dead, whitney cerak wheeler got married in the same church where her funeral was once held in the aftermath of a stunning case of mistaken identity that. Taylor university is marking 10 years this week since the horrific crash that killed five people and resulted in a case of mistaken identity that became international news. Mistaken identity weaves a complex tale of honesty, vulnerability, loss, hope, faith, and love in the face of one of the strangest twists of circumstances imaginable. A semitruck lost control and barreled across the median and into their van. Taylor university is marking 10 years since the horrific crash that killed five people and resulted in a case of mistaken. In a tragic case of mistaken identity 10 years ago, cerak and van ryn were wrongly identified in the chaos following a devastating crash on i69 involving a semi and a van full of taylor university. Mistaken identity by don van ryn, susie van ryn, newell cerak, colleen cerak, whitney cerak, and mark a. After releasing their book mistaken identity and appearing on network shows to discuss the tragedy, don and susie van ryn and newell and.
Families bonded over emotional mistaken identity case find. She was found to be whitney cerak, not laura van ryn. Whitney cerak, a 19yearold student at indianas taylor university, was thought to have died until a stunning case of mistaken identity was discovered. Indiana college student presumed dead in car crash tells. Mistaken identity and millions of other books are available for instant access.
758 233 525 149 1091 1447 1405 175 388 126 599 1037 1308 779 1395 1163 606 875 244 873 887 1105 1264 1344 490 314 926 1287 486 1274