By JODI WOLFE
Staff Writer

The driver of the car that killed 2003 Bow High School graduate John George Queenan, 19, of Hooksett, was sentenced to 15 months in the Cumberland County Jail.

Luke Chouinard, 19, of Oxford, Maine, was convicted last month on charges of manslaughter and reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, the weapon being the car. The accident took place on Route 114 in Naples, Maine, the night of Aug. 28, 2003. Queenan died early the next morning at Central Maine Medical Center.

Queenan had just made the golf team at St. Joseph’s College. He and his friends were celebrating his making the team when Chouinard took a curve in a 40-mph zone at 80 mph.

Queenan’s parents, John and Joann Queenan, were present at Chouinard’s sentencing. John Queenan read a statement on how the accident has affected their lives.

In the statement, Queenan said that John George Queenan was their only child and they would never again be able to share all the memories they had while he was growing up.

“We stand before you, your honor, not seeking revenge but wanting justice,” Queenan said.

The prosecuting attorney had asked the court for a sentence of two-and-a-half years in prison, but Queenan felt Chouinard should have gotten more than 15 months.

“Once we walked away from the courtroom, the loss is still a loss,” Queenan said.

He and his wife hope that people will learn from Chouinard’s mistake, he said.

“We’re really suggesting to teenagers, any young adult, it isn’t just drinking and driving, or driving and drugs, or drugs and drinking, sometimes it’s just speed,” Queenan said.

Since the death of their son, the Queenans have worked to keep their son’s memory alive through the John George Queenan Memorial Scholarship Fund. Last year, four scholarships for $2,000 were given to four graduating Bow High School seniors.

“That’s a real good thing that’s come out of this miserable stuff,” said Queenan.