From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Whitney Cerak
Whitney Cerak
Whitney Cerak (born Muncie, Indiana on April 29, 1987) http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/
is an American student who was mistakenly identified 2006-05-31-indiana-mistaken-identity_x.htm.
as another person, following a car accident that killed Retrieved 2008-03-20.
five people on Interstate 69 in Grant County, Indiana.[1] [2] "Mistaken identity has family keeping vigil over
The case of mistaken identity made national and inter- wrong woman". CBC News. 2006-06-01.
national headlines[2][3] and prompted proposed legisla- http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2006/06/01/
tion in the states of Michigan and Indiana concerning victim-mixup.html. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
stricter guidelines in the identification of bodies by coro- [3] "Coma woman mix-up pains US family". BBC News.
ners.[4][5] 2006-06-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/
Cerak was misidentified as Laura Van Ryn, a fellow 5037536.stm. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
student from Taylor University, following an accident on [4] "Summer Study Committee Presents Ideas for
April 26, 2006. Both of them were in a van that collided Laws". Indiana House Republicans.
with a semi-trailer, killing five people and critically in- http://www.in.gov/legislative/house_republicans/
juring four others.[6] Due to the severity of the injuries thisweek/index060922.html. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
which included severe head trauma as well as some phys- [5] "State Representative tries to prevent future
ical similarities between the two women, Cerak was tak- identity mix-ups". WZZM13 NEWS.
en care of by the Van Ryn family in the belief that she http://www.wzzm13.com/news/
was their daughter. (Meanwhile, Van Ryn was buried in news_article.aspx?storyid=55776. Retrieved
a grave with Cerak’s name on it.) More than five weeks 2008-03-29.
passed before the mistake was realized. [6] "In Loving Memory". Taylor University.
Whitney Cerak regained full physical and mental http://www.taylor.edu/community/news/05_06/
health, and returned to Taylor University for the fall 2006 memorial.shtml. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
semester. She graduated May 23, 2009 with a bachelor’s [7] "Whitney Cerak, crash survivor in ID mix-up,
degree in psychology. writes book". Chicago Tribune.
Since the incident, the Cerak and Van Ryn families http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/
have maintained a close relationship and have co-written nationworld/chi-whitney-
a book together detailing their experience entitled Mis- cerak-0327,0,5769738.story. Retrieved 2008-03-29.
taken Identity: Two Families, One Survivor, Unwavering Persondata
Hope.[7]
Name Cerak
Alternative names
See also Short description
• Alone -- an episode from the television show House Date of birth 1987-04-29
that features a similar mistaken identity theme.
• And Here’s To You, Mrs Azrael (CSI: NY episode) -- an Place of birth
episode from the television show CSI: NY that Date of death
features a similar mistaken identity theme. Place of death
References
[1] "Case of mistaken identity stuns families". USA
Today - Theodore Kim. 2006-06-01.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Whitney_Cerak&oldid=462672973"
Categories:
• Living people
• Taylor University alumni
• 1987 births
• American people stubs
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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Whitney Cerak
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