GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A woman misidentified for weeks as a college classmate killed in a traffic accident plans to return to school, according to her family’s online journal.
“She will do fine at (Taylor University), taking a lighter load of classes and continuing her therapies,” Whitney Cerak’s family wrote. “The setting of college will also enhance her progress being around her friends and Taylor community.”
Cerak, 19, of Gaylord, was among nine people from Taylor University in Indiana riding in a school van that collided with a tractor-trailer on April 26.
Five people died in the crash, including Laura VanRyn, a 22-year-old Taylor senior. But VanRyn’s mother and father were mistakenly told that she was alive while Cerak’s parents were told that their daughter, whose injuries initially left her in a near-comatose state, was dead.
VanRyn’s family and boyfriend kept vigil at Cerak’s bedside for five weeks before realizing the error.
Taylor spokesman Jim Garringer said university administrators are excited about Cerak’s return and are looking into what they can do to assist the Cerak family. Classes begin Aug. 29.
“We will never be able to fill the holes left by the five people we lost in that terrible accident,” Garringer said. “But we are rejoicing that Whitney can come back to us.”
Cerak is recovering at a rehabilitation facility.
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