Red Wings’ Konstantinov In Coma After Limo Wreck

Less than a week after winning the Stanley Cup, a star member of the Detroit Red Wings and the team masseur were fighting for their lives early today after their limousine, driven by a man with a revoked license and a poor driving record, crashed Friday night.

Defenseman Vladimir Konstantinov, 30, was in a coma in critical condition at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, said Dr. James Cisek, who treated all four of the injured men. Konstantinov suffered head injuries and was breathing with the aid of a ventilator.

The masseur, Sergei Mnatsakanov, 43, was in critical condition, undergoing surgery for a compressed skull, a team source said.

Defenseman Slava Fetisov, 39, was in fair condition with a chest injury and a bruised lung, but was able to talk, the team said.

The limousine driver, 28-year-old Richard Gnida, of Gambino’s Limousine Service of Belleville, was in fair condition.

Michigan Secretary of State records show Gnida, of Westland, has a revoked driver’s license and a long list of violations, some alcohol-related.

The one-car accident was reported to police at 9:13 p.m.

Both front air bags of the white stretch limo deployed when the car careened into a grassy median of the divided road and hit a tree, crumpling the front end.

Witnesses said the limo appeared to have swerved abruptly to avoid a stalled car in the road.

But Birmingham police said initial information indicated driver error was the cause.

“It’s nothing to do with the hockey players,” a police official said. “What happened had nothing to do with them.”

Liz Boyd, spokeswoman for the Michigan Secretary of State, said Gnida’s driver’s license was most recently revoked in January 1996.

She said that in February 1996, he was ticketed in Adrian for speeding and driving while his license was suspended. In July 1996, Gnida was given an additional revocation, and he is not eligible for review until January 1998, Boyd said.

John Gambino, the owner of the limo company, said he did not know Gnida had a bad record. He said he has a secretary who checks records before drivers are hired.

Sgt. Steven Schettenhelm of the Birmingham Police, who was at the scene, said he could not tell whether anyone in the car was wearing a seatbelt.

The crash created a minor traffic jam as fans learned players were involved. Some people grabbed bark from the uprooted tree.

Three fans were holding lighted candles in red and white, the team colors, in an impromptu vigil outside the hospital.

The accident came after a golf outing, which club officials said was a last event for the team before the players scattered.