Associate Principal Kills Marine Veteran in a Drunken Crash

Around 8:18 PM on December 29, 2024, Deputies with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the scene of a motor vehicle crash. The crash involved 2 vehicles near the intersection of County Highway NN, W Rusco Drive, and S Main Street in West Bend. They arrived on scene and noticed that a Jeep that was headed eastbound on County Highway NN had apparently struck a southbound Chevy Impala as the driver headed southbound on S Main Street.

Both vehicles had sustained severe damages, including airbag deployment. The driver of the Chevy Impala, 75-year-old David Cournia, appeared to have sustained life-threatening injuries. He was immediately transported by ambulance to a hospital in Milwaukee for further treatment. The Deputies then made contact with the driver of the Jeep, who was identified as Rebecca Salomon. At the time, Rebecca was employed as an Associate Principal at the Cumberland Elementary School in Whitefish Bay, WI.

As they were speaking with Rebecca, they observed indicators of impairment. Rebecca’s husband told the Deputies that he was sitting inside the passenger seat of the Jeep. Since her husband became uncooperative, he was placed under arrest before the Deputies could continue their OWI investigation in regards to Rebecca.

She told the Deputies that she was coming from the Lucky Shotz bar at 4919 State Highway 144 in Hartford, WI. While she was at the bar, she admitted to consuming a few drinks during the Packers game. Based on the Deputies’ suspicion of impairment, Rebecca was asked to perform field sobriety exercises and she agreed to do so.

The first field sobriety exercise involved the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. During the HGN test, the Deputy observed 6/6 indicators of impairment. The second exercise was the Walk and Turn test, and Rebecca failed to touch heel-to-toe on each step and turned improperly. The final field sobriety exercise was the One Leg Stand test. During the One Leg Stand test, Rebecca failed to raise her foot in the proper fashion and put her foot down before the test was complete.

After the field sobriety exercises were completed, Rebecca was offered an opportunity to blow into a preliminary breath test (PBT), but she refused. Based on the motor vehicle crash involving an injury, her indicators of impairment, her admission to consuming alcohol earlier that evening, and her inability to perform the field sobriety tests adequately, Rebecca was placed under arrest for operating while intoxicated (OWI).

The Deputy placed Rebecca inside the patrol car and read her the Informing the Accused form. Rebecca agreed to submit breath samples, and he transported Rebecca to the hospital for a blood draw. Rebecca did submit a PBT as well at the hospital, and the results indicated a BAC level of 0.102%. After the DRE evaluation was also completed at the hospital, the Deputy transported Rebecca to the jail. Rebecca was booked into the jail and eventually released on a $500 bond pending her court appearance.

She was initially issued the following 3 citations:

-Operating While Intoxicated (OWI)

-Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) Causing Injury

-Failure to yield causing injury

A few days later on January 3, 2025, David Cournia, the driver of the other vehicle, passed away at Froedtert Hospital as a result of his injuries that were sustained during the OWI crash. On February 21, 2025, 2 additional criminal charges of Homicide by Intoxicated Use of Vehicle (940.09(1)(a)) and Homicide by Use of Vehicle with PAC (940.09(1)(b)) were filed against Rebecca. On December 15, 2025, Rebecca was convicted of Homicide by Intoxicated Use of Vehicle (940.09(1)(a)) and sentenced to 6 years in prison and 3 additional years of extended supervision.

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