Detroit Red Wings mourn death of former equipment aide: 'Just a vibrant part of our staff'

The Detroit Red Wings are mourning the death of Dan Kerstetter, a Michigan State Police Officer who a decade ago spent three years working for the team.

Dan Kerstetter died Sunday after being struck by a car on the side of Interstate 75 Downriver on Friday, according to officials. A Motor Carrier Officer with the Metro North Post was stopped on the side of I-75 northbound near Dix in Lincoln Park conducting a traffic stop, when his patrol vehicle was struck at around 8:30 a.m., Michigan State Police Second District said in a post on X .

From 2012-15, Kerstetter worked as an assistant equipment manager for the Wings.

"We're all very sad and shaken by what has happened," longtime Wings equipment manager Paul Boyer told the Free Press on Sunday. "He was a good friend to all of our staff. He was a personal friend of mine.

"We've very sad. We're sad for his family. There's no words that can say it. We're all just shaken."

Boyer said Kerstetter and his brother, Billy, helped out the Wings working the visitors' room at Joe Louis Arena when Kerstetter became a full-time member of staff.

"We had a vacancy and we needed someone to drive the truck and do the pickups and he was available and it just kind of stemmed from that," Boyer said. "It was like every other hockey job — you're in the right place at the right time.

"He was a great worker. We really cherished our time with him. He made us laugh. He fit in well."

After Kerstetter left, the two stayed in touch.

"I would see him around the neighborhood," Boyer said. "He was doing his own thing, but he was a personal friend and I would bump into him a lot here in Grosse Pointe — we've got mutual friends and mutual family friends. His sister and my wife are good friends."

It was Boyer's wife who told him the news of Kerstetter's passing.

"He was a vibrant part of our staff."

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com . Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames .

Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter .

Her books, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” and “The Big 50: The Men and Moments that made the Detroit Red Wings” are available from Amazon , Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings mourn death of former equipment aide: 'Just a vibrant part of our staff'