Man gets 12 years in death of Lawrence County couple

Sep. 24—The man who pleaded guilty earlier this month in the collision death of a Lawrence County couple, LoRena and Steve Cahal, will be spending the next 12 years in prison.

Arnold Queen II, of Wheelersburg, was sentenced on Friday afternoon in the Scioto County Common Pleas Court of Judge Howard H. Harcha to 12 — 15 years in prison, with a 12 year minimum sentence.

On Sept. 16, 2020, a Scioto County Grand Jury indicted Queen with two counts of aggravated vehicular manslaughter, one count of driving under suspension or in violation of license restriction and one count of operating a vehicle under the influence of an intoxicant. He pleaded not guilty to the charges at that time.

On Sept. 1, Queen withdrew his not guilty plea and pleaded guilty to all the charges against him.

The case began on Sept. 5, 2020, when the Portsmouth post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol got a report of what appeared to be an intoxicated male leaving the Country Store in South Webster after causing a disturbance.

The troopers were searching for Queen's black van when troopers came upon the scene of a fatal motorcycle collision.

Upon initial investigation, it was determined that a black 2016 Kia Sedona driven by Queen crossed the center line and struck a 2019 Harley Davidson motorcycle occupied by the LoRena and Steve Cahal.

Lorena Cahal, 50, was pronounced dead at the scene and Steve Cahal, 51 was flown to Cabell-Huntington Hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, where he died of his injuries on Sept 6, 2020.

LoRena Cahal was a family advocate at the Lawrence County Early Childhood Academy and served on the board for Lawrence County Developmental Disabilities.

Steve Cahal worked as a truck driver for U.S. Foods.

The South Point couple was known for their work with community groups and their dedication to developmental disabilities issues in the county.