It began April 26, when the two college students were involved in a violent crash in northern Indiana.

Whitney, now 19, and Laura, 22, were riding with a group from Taylor University when a tractor-trailer slammed into their van, killing five people.

Whitney's family was told she was among the dead. Laura's family was told that their daughter was alive, but in a coma-like state.

In Gaylord, Whitney's family held a closed-casket funeral that drew 1,400.

The VanRyns, meanwhile, stayed by the injured young woman's bedside for weeks. On a daily Web log of her recovery, they detailed the many small steps they believed their daughter was making, such as feeding herself applesauce and playing the game Connect Four.

On Monday, the VanRyns reported: "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."

Then the VanRyns learned why: The recovering patient wasn't their daughter. She was Whitney Cerak.

The family disclosed the mix-up on their blog Wednesday: "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."

"I still can't get over it," said Frank, Whitney's grandfather. "It's like a fairy tale."

A tragedy unfolds

In fact, it sounded more like The Twilight Zone than the Brothers Grimm.

The mix-up started at a chaotic accident scene, according to Grant County, Ind., coroner Ron Mowery.

"The identification, and the personal effects from the van and the occupants from the van, were strewn all about the accident scene and into the grass area off the highway," he said. "There were three agencies that were working together, but were experiencing a difficult time pulling it all together."

He said a series of events led to the mistake:

• When Whitney Cerak was airlifted to a Fort Wayne hospital, Laura VanRyn's ID went with her.

• Members of the Taylor University staff — who knew the women and were asked to identify the victims — confused the women.

• At the hospital in Fort Wayne, Laura's family believed she was the injured woman.

• Whitney's family never looked at the body recovered from the accident. One sister came to the hospital with the intention of doing so, but ultimately decided against it.

• No DNA test was performed to confirm the dead woman's identity.

"We did everything we knew to do ... and trusted the same processes and the same policies that we always do," Mowery said.

But the coroner said he planned to quit by year's end. "The decision to leave this position is something I decided before this tragedy, which has taken a huge toll on me."

Mowery, a politician who has been a county sheriff and mayor of the city of Marion, is completing the term of an elected coroner who moved to a different office. Mowery had signed up for a training course offered by the state Coroners Training Board but had not taken it.

Once the initial mistake had been made, why wasn't the survivor recognized as Whitney Cerak?

In a statement, the VanRyn and Cerak families said the two women shared a "striking similarity in appearance." Both had straight long blond hair. They had similar facial features, build and height.

Also, the victim's face was swollen. Her neck was in a brace. She had broken bones and bruises. For a time she was in a coma-like state.

The VanRyn family's website said the patient had a tracheotomy, which would have made speech difficult until it was capped May 15.

But early on, Mowery said, Laura's boyfriend had questioned her identity based on the young woman's behavior and comments.

In addition, Taylor University officials said late Thursday that Laura's roommate had expressed doubts about the patient's identity as far back as two weeks ago.

As her facial swelling began to recede, the injured woman didn't quite look like Laura, and she said things and did things Laura normally wouldn't, TheIndianapolis Star, Detroit Free Press and the Associated Press reported.

The reports said VanRyn's father became suspicious when she referred to him by a pet name he didn't recognize. Sometimes she seemed frustrated, once trying to tear off her neck brace. Another time, she took a swing at one of the VanRyns. Several times when relatives addressed her as "Laura," the young woman replied, "Whitney," the reports said.