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Women in mixup shared more than their looks

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 4, 2006

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - They had much in common, much more than their long, blond hair: optimistic smiles, a flair for sports and a devotion to religion. And those who knew them say the two shared an uncanny knack for making a friend of anyone they met.

But in the aftermath of an accident, it was their outward similarities that led to a tragic mixup.

Five people died on the night of April 26, when a semitrailer truck plowed into a van carrying students and workers from Taylor University, a Christian school in Indiana.

Everyone thought 19-year-old Whitney Cerak was one of them, and that Laura VanRyn, 22, survived in a coma-like state, her face swollen and bones broken.

Last week, it was revealed the young woman recovering in a hospital the past five weeks was Cerak.

At the center of this extraordinary case of mistaken identity are two women with a "striking similarity in size, facial features and body type," the families said in a statement.

But they shared much more. Friends and associates describe Cerak, a freshman, and VanRyn, a senior just weeks shy of graduation, with some of the same words: energetic, responsible, self-assured, a natural athlete, close to her family.

Cerak played volleyball, basketball and soccer in high school. In college, she was the life of the first-floor east wing at Olson Hall, a three-story red brick dorm where she was one of nearly 40 residents.

"Oh, gosh, she's the most amazing girl," said her college friend, Allie Jocson. "She has such a big heart. She made everyone feel welcome."

Cerak had a serious side, too: She was the one who would drag a pal to see Duster, a favorite band, then sit her down later to watch a sobering video about the plight of Ugandan children forced to become soldiers.

She could fit in no matter where she was, her friend Jen Howard explains. "If you talked to her for two minutes, you felt like you knew her forever," she said.

Friends have similar fond memories of VanRyn. They describe an outgoing woman who attended church regularly and was always smiling and always on the go, whether it was playing guitar, singing at friends' weddings, working at a Bible camp or running to stay fit.

She, too, was an athlete, and excelled at soccer and volleyball in high school. She played lacrosse at Taylor and was one of the team's captains and coaches, says Kerry Porter, a friend and teammate.

"She'd always be there early," Porter said. "She was a good person to look up to."

On Sunday, friends and relatives will attend a memorial service and share recollections of VanRyn. Her family will exhume her body, which was buried April 30 about 150 miles away - under a tombstone with Cerak's name.

About 1,400 people gathered then to say goodbye to Cerak. Now some of those same people will travel here to reunite with their friend, reclaimed from death.

[Last modified June 4, 2006, 05:43:07]