By Jane Daugherty / The Detroit News
Detroit Red Wings defensive star Vladimir Konstantinov, fondly known to fans as "The Vladinator," remained hospitalized in a coma Saturday night,facing the toughest battle of his gutsy hockey career.
Massive head injuries from an unexplained limousine crash Friday night in Birmingham have caused life-threatening pressure on his brain, prompting trauma specialists to work around the clock to reduce the swelling.
Teammate Slava Fetisov, 39, who played with Konstantinov on the Russian Red Army team, suffered a bruised lung and chest injury in the single-car crash but was able to talk upon admission to the hospital. On Saturday, doctors upgraded Fetisov's condition from fair to good.
Sergei Mnatsakanov, 43, a masseur with the Red Wings, also remained in critical condition and was unconscious Saturday after neurosurgery Friday night to relieve pressure from a compressed skull he suffered when the limo, which was returning them from a golf outing, crashed.
Birmingham police concluded Saturday that no other cars "caused the limo to move onto the median" on southbound Woodward just south of Big Beaver at 9:13 p.m. Friday. It continued to swerve before striking a tree head-on, causing massive front-end damage and tossing around its three passengers like rag dolls.
The limo driver, Richard Alan Gnida, had his driver's license revoked in 1996 for several violations, including some alcohol-related charges.
At Beaumont on Saturday, Dr. James Robbins, a trauma surgeon, said, "There is no reason to believe that alcohol was involved in any way in this accident."
Gnida, 27, of Westland, was listed in fair condition, apparently saved from serious injury by an air bag.
Birmingham police were investigating the cause of the crash, but they said Saturday that the white, stretch limo was traveling within the posted 50-mph speed limit.
The driver reportedly told his employer that he swerved to avoid a stalled car. Birmingham police said they found no evidence of a stalled car near the crash scene.
As state police joined with the Birmingham Police Department to investigate the crash, Oakland County Prosecutor David Gorcyca vowed to punish all violations to the full extent of the law. He said he would explore options to hold the limo service responsible for any criminal acts relating to the employment of an unlicensed driver.
"Because of the serious nature of all the injuries, we will take a strong look at everybody involved," he said. "I can't imagine why the owner of that company did not run a license search on the driver."
Police will present their findings to Gorcyca on Monday. If evidence justifies it, Gorcyca said, he will seek warrants that could include serious felony charges against the driver.
Konstantinov, 30, the son of a Russian fisherman, was one of five Russian players who had a key role in the Red Wings' Stanley Cup triumph last week over the Philadelphia Flyers. The others are Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vycheslav Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov.
Konstantinov has been given multiple CAT scans and remained in neurological intensive care in critical condition late Saturday. He is on a ventilator.
Doctors surgically inserted a drain in his skull and repaired lacerations to his elbow late Friday but said no other surgery "is indicated at this time."
Red Wings captain Steve Yzerman, accompanied by half a dozen other players, blinked back tears as he told reporters at a Saturday news conference: "Our entire organization is devastated by this accident.
"We ask for everyone's prayers and support for Vlady and our trainer Sergei."
Many of the players' wives and team owner Mike Ilitch were on hand for the hospital vigil, some mentioning on the eve of Father's Day that despite their combative sport, many Wings players are devoted fathers and husbands.
Konstantinov and his 8-year-old daughter, Anastasia, for instance, collect Beanie Babies. He recently told a Detroit News sports writer that they only need 15 more for the whole set of some 90 of the little stuffed toys.
Michigan Secretary of State records indicate that Gnida's driver's license was revoked after a long history of violations dating back to 1990.
The vehicle was rented from Gambino's Westside Limousine Service of Van Buren Township. A spokesman for the company said he didn't know Gnida did not have a driver's license.
Gnida's driver's license was last revoked in February 1996 and he is not eligible for review until January 1998, said Liz Boyd, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State.
Enraged fans allegedly called in death threats to the limousine service office Saturday, while others stood tearfully outside the hospital Friday night and Saturday or placed flowers, Wings flags and pennants at the crash site.
The crash and the ensuing uncertainty about whether Konstantinov and Mnatsakanov will survive shattered the weeklong celebration by the Wings and fans of the team's sweep of the Philadelphia Flyers to claim the Stanley Cup.
"Everything was fine, the guys were golfing and enjoying themselves, then, all of a sudden, this happens," said Wings teammate Igor Larionov.
He spoke before the press conference when Yzerman announced there would be no further comments from players to avoid misinterpretation of complex medical data.
Larionov was scheduled to play in the golf outing with his close friend Fetisov and would have ridden in the ill-fated limo.
"I changed my plans in the morning," Larionov said. "Slava and I were going to play nine holes because we really don't like the game. But I decided to stay at home and spend the day with my kids."
Larionov said the players were being cautious by using professional drivers for the golf outing.
"There have been a lot of car accidents back home (in Russia) and some really bad situations," Larionov said. "This is really, really disappointing. It's only been a week since we won the Cup and there was so much joy and celebration."
He said hockey players in Russia have had accidents involving drinking and driving.
"But everyone handled themselves very well (on Friday), by doing the right thing and getting the limousine," Larionov said. "The last thing you think is that there would be this happening. It is so terrible, so terrible."
Jeff Stalcup, director of golf at the Orchards Golf Club in Macomb County where the Red Wings played Friday, said the limo drivers had a separate tab and charged only soft drinks and hot dogs.
Robbins added, "There is no reason to believe that drugs were involved in this accident."
He declined to speculate on when doctors might know if the two critically injured men will recover. "There is an extremely wide spectrum of head injuries," he said, "making it extremely difficult to predict the outcome at this stage."
He said it was a "good sign" that Konstantinov's CAT scans did not indicate that surgery is needed at this time.
Arthur Pincus, vice-president of public relations for the National Hockey League, said Saturday: "Our hopes and prayers are with those who were injured. We will continue praying for them and monitoring the situation." The crash evoked expressions of sadness from as far away as Moscow, where it was already Sunday when sportswriter Gennady Fyodorov asked about Konstantinov, "So it's not a question of whether he will play again? It's a question of whether he will live or die?"
Fyodorov, who writes for the English-language newspaper the Moscow Times, said Russian television carried a sketchy story Friday night, showing a picture of the smashed front end of the stretch limo.
"The footage of the car showed it must have been a horrible crash," he said. "I had an appointment to interview (Igor) Larionov tomorrow, but now, I don't know. I'm sure people will be shocked -- not just hockey fans, but everybody. We were all so happy with Detroit's victory, everybody here was rooting for them."
