Laura Van Ryn

Who was Laura Van Ryn?

Laura VanRyn (February 13, 1984 - April 26, 2006) was killed during her senior year at Taylor University in a van collision with a semitrailer on Interstate 69 near Highway 18 in Indiana.

While it was originally thought that Laura survived the accident with severe head trauma, her family began to notice that "while certain things seem to be coming back to her, she still has times where she'll say things that don't make much sense." On May 31, [[2006] it was determined after suspicions were raised that the girl being treated in a Michigan hospital was in fact not Laura, but Whitney Cerak (a fellow student), and that Laura had been killed in the accident. Laura was initially buried in Fairview Cemetery in Gaylord, Michigan under the name of Whitney, but was later exhumed and re-buried in Graceland Memorial Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The story made world news after the identity mix-up was discovered.

In Laura's journal, found by her college roommate, Laura wrote "I know I will most likely get married, be a mom one day, and that is something I wonder about. I also wonder what it would be like to meet Jesus, and how I'm going to die. I don't necessarily think that death is something I'm afraid of. I'm just interested to know."

"For all those times all those years, I could have never imagined that this was the way you'd leave the world. It just hurts a lot," one family member said.

Famous Quotes:

• I'm just interested to know."
• I don't necessarily think that death is something I'm afraid of.
• I know I will most likely get married, be a mom one day, and that is something I wonder about.
• I also wonder what it would be like to meet Jesus, and how I'm going to die.