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Road to Stanleytown: Celebration turns to sadness with Vladimir Konstantinov limo crash
In the spring of 1997 — a quarter-century ago — the Detroit Red Wings embarked on their quest to end a 42-year Stanley Cup drought.
The Free Press has commemorated that historic quest with a new book: “Stanleytown 25 Years Later: The Inside Story of How the Stanley Cup Returned to the Motor City After 41 Frustrating Seasons.”
Day 59: June 13, 1997
The backstory: At 9:13 p.m. on a Friday the 13th, the Birmingham police received a report of a one-vehicle accident on Woodward Avenue about 400 yards south of Big Beaver. Throughout the afternoon and into the evening, most of the Red Wings were enjoying one last bash before scattering to their off-season locales. Their agenda called for sticks with little balls at the Orchards Golf Club in Washington Township, more camaraderie in the clubhouse and limousine rides home to be on the safe side. The guest of honor, naturally, was the Stanley Cup. Before the clock struck midnight, though, one of the greatest week’s in Michigan sports history suddenly turned into one of the most tragic.
Back to reality: That first night — in an ordeal that lasted months and whose reverberations continue to this day — the details were sketchy and rumors were rampant. The givens: Russian defensemen Vladimir Konstantinov, 30, and Slava Fetisov, 39, and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov, 43, were seriously injured in a limo accident in Birmingham while returning from the golf outing. Their white stretch limousine careered off southbound Woodward into the grassy median of the divided road and hit at tree, crumpling the front end. The trio and the driver were rushed to William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak. Owner Mike Ilitch, who heard about a crash involving his team on television, arrived at the hospital about 10:45 p.m., dressed in a Wings windbreaker. “I’m concerned,” he said. “I’ve got to make sure my boys are taken care of.” Trainer John Wharton ran into the hospital around 11:30 p.m., followed by captain Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan. Other players followed. Konstantinov, Fetisov and Mnatsakanov had left the Orchards about 90 minute before the rest of team, which was to regroup at Chris Osgood’s home in Birmingham. When Yzerman’s cell phone rang with news on the accident, he gathered the team and delivered the grim details. “It was the worst feeling ever,” swingman Mathieu Dandenault said.
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A reason to believe: Over the weekend, Konstantinov’s and Mnatsakanov’s lives were in the balance, listed in critical condition with massive head injuries. Fetisov was in fair condition with a chest injury and a bruised lung. The limo driver, Richard Gnida, also was in fair condition. Helene St. James of the Free Press provided the rest of the story on the limousine accident and its aftermath in her 2020 book, “The Big 50: Detroit Red Wings,” which also appeared in “Stanleytown 25 Years Later.”
He forced himself out of his hospital bed, ignoring the pain in his ribs, and limped into the next room. It was the middle of the night, and the only people around were staff.
In the other room, Slava Fetisov found Vladimir Konstantinov, his body covered in tubes and bandages, attached to monitors and IVs and a ventilator. Fetisov had been through this before. Twelve years earlier, in June 1985, Fetisov had been involved in a car accident that killed his brother, Anatoly. Fetisov couldn’t face another loss.
“A nurse told me that after I was gone, Slava came to Vladdie’s room,” Irina Konstantinov, Vladimir’s wife, said in a 1998 interview. “He could barely walk. He kind of crawled into the room, and he was sitting there in the dark next to Vladdie and he was crying and telling Vladdie, ‘Don’t you leave me.’” …
On Friday, June 13, players and team personnel enjoyed an outing with the Cup at the Orchards Golf Club in northern Macomb County. Rides had been arranged so that no one would have to worry how many times they had sipped from the Cup.
The stretch limousine was traveling south on Woodward Avenue in Birmingham when it veered across three lanes and crashed into a maple tree. Fetisov was hurled forward but his trajectory was halted by the mini fridge. He suffered a chest injury and a bruised lung and was released from the hospital after five days.
Konstantinov and Mnatsakanov were tossed into the minibar, shards of glass embedding in their heads. Konstantinov suffered what doctors called “scrambled brain,” a condition that can shear neurons and cause swelling. Mnatsakanov was thrown so violently that he suffered a fractured skull and broken spine. Brain matter leaked out of fissures. Both were comatose.
Irina Konstantinov found out about the accident from Fetisov’s wife, Lada. Elena Mnatsakanov, Sergei’s wife, was returning from walking the family dog when she saw a strange car in their driveway. A team official was waiting for her.
Back at the golf club, cell phones started ringing.
“To this day I remember that night,” Kirk Maltby said in 2019. “We had no idea how bad it was at first. We thought, ‘OK, they’re at the hospital, they’re getting treatment.’ We thought it was broken bones, something like that. Like, they could rehab and that would be that.”
