Thursday, June 01, 2006

Mistaken identity shifts grief after deadly accident

The casket was closed for Whitney Cerak's funeral more than a month ago. Her mother, Colleen, declined to look at the body, battered as it was in a collision between a van and a tractor-trailer.

Meanwhile, the family of Laura VanRyn, another victim of the crash, kept vigil by a hospital bed. The severely injured young woman was in a coma for a time, but the family's blog detailed the many small steps she made toward recovery.

But as her condition improved, Laura Van Ryn's family realized they had the wrong woman, and Colleen Cerak realized she had not buried her daughter.

The family of VanRyn, 22, disclosed the mix-up Wednesday on their blog. "Our hearts are aching as we have learned that the young woman we have been taking care of over the past five weeks has not been our dear Laura," but instead a fellow university student of hers, Whitney Cerak, they wrote.

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