Good evening. For the second time in a week, a widely recognized American figure has died when he was skiing and ran into a tree. Congressman Sonny Bono was first a songwriter in the nineteen sixties and then a popular entertainer. He was serving his second term in Congress when he died late yesterday at a ski resort on the border between California and Nevada. First, we go to Jane Clayson, who has the details of the accident. Sonny Bono was on a family vacation at the Heavenly Ski Resort when the accident happened. Early yesterday afternoon, the sixty two year old congressman left his wife and two young daughters at the top of the mountain and started down the slope alone. At some point, he veered off into this wooded area, lost control and slammed into a tree, going twenty to thirty miles per hour. Bono died instantly. His death was caused by massive head injuries due to blunt force trauma. His wife reported him missing as the lifts were closing for the day, and two hours later, the ski patrol found his body, twenty five feet from the groomed trail in an area that was not off limits. It's very common for those uh for skiers to go into that wooded area, go in and out of it um. It's not uncommon whatsoever. So it's part of the run, if you will. Sonny Bono was an advanced skier on an intermediate run, the Orion trail. And he was familiar with this popular South Lake Tahoe resort, having skied at Heavenly for more than twenty years. No one saw the accident, but conditions on the mountain were clear at the time. Initial autopsy reports indicate Bono was not under the influence of alcohol or any other substance. It just appears this was a horrible accident. Jane Clayson, _A_B_C News, South Lake Tahoe, California.