Kentucky State Sen. Johnnie Turner died Tuesday night from injuries colleagues said he sustained last month after driving his riding lawn mower into an empty swimming pool.
On Wednesday, fellow Kentucky Sen. Phillip Wheeler announced with “profound sadness” that his colleague was dead.
“Johnnie was truly one of the most fascinating people that I’ve ever had the privilege of knowing,” Wheeler wrote on social media. “Please keep Johnnie’s wife Maritza, his children Yazmin, Susie, and Johnnie, and his grandchildren in your thoughts and prayers.”
Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers said the 76-year-old Republican succumbed after a “hard-fought battle” to bounce back from the accident, according to The Associated Press.
“Johnnie spent his life lifting others — whether through his service in the U.S. Army, as a member of the State House of Representatives and State Senate, or in his private legal practice,” Stivers said.
Republican Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, also of Kentucky, recalled “Johnnie was on the scene” when his Appalachian district neighbors needed a helping hand.
“That’s just who he was,” McConnell said in a statement. “A good man who loved the mountains and its people.”
Turner served in the Kentucky House from 1999 to 2002 before returning to politics by winning a state Senate seat in 2020 he planned to defend in November. His name will remain on the ballot, which write-in candidates have until Friday to add their names to as well. Kentucky’s secretary of state reportedly said a special election will otherwise be held to fill his seat.
Turner was a strong supporter of the coal trade that provided jobs and revenue for his eastern Kentucky constituents. The conservative legislator also helped pass a bipartisan 2021 horse racing bill meant to augment Kentucky’s thoroughbred sporting business by legalizing mechanical gambling units comparable to slot machines.
Details are vague regarding the Sept. 15 crash leading to Turner’s death.