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November 16, 2009

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Investigation into accident concludes

Thursday, June 10, 1999 | 4:07 a.m.

Now, it's up to the district attorney's office to figure out what happened when Rinette Riella-Bergna plunged 700 feet to her death in a Ford pickup in an accident her husband escaped from with minor injuries.

Peter Bergna, 46, of Incline Village, told investigators he lost control of his truck in the early morning hours of June 2, 1998.

It sliced through a guardrail, then tumbled down the embankment on Slide Mountain.

Deputies found him 50 feet down the mountain after he called for help with a cell phone. He said he had been thrown clear of the truck.

It took several hours to retrieve his wife's body because of the steep terrain and smashed pickup. Riella-Bergna, a 49-year-old international tour guide, was wearing her seat belt at the time of the accident.

"There are things we know couldn't have happened in certain ways, and his versions have changed," Chief Deputy District Attorney Dave Clifton said. "There are only two people at most who knew what happened, and obviously we are only able to get a statement from one of them."

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