Kentucky State Senator Johnnie L. Turner, who sustained critical injuries after accidentally driving a riding mower into an empty swimming pool, died Tuesday evening at age 76, state officials confirmed.
Turner had been making progress in intensive care and recently completed his first physical therapy session, according to a September 25 update from Kentucky Senate Republicans. The accident occurred September 15, when Kentucky State Police reported Turner drove into the deep end of an empty pool. He was initially rushed to a Harlan hospital before being airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.
“Over the past weeks, his remarkable resolve and strength filled the Turner family — and all of us — with optimism, making this loss all the more difficult to bear,” Senate President Robert Stivers said in a statement.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell remembered Turner’s dedication to public service: “In recent years, I remember crossing paths with Johnnie to survey the damage left by the devastating floods that hit Eastern Kentucky. Johnnie was on the scene, ankle-deep in mud, his equipment from home in tow, ready to help folks in Letcher County. That’s just who he was: a good man who loved the mountains and its people.”
Turner, born on Christmas Eve 1947 as one of eleven children, served as a U.S. Army medic from 1967-69 before attending Union College and the University of Kentucky College of Law. His political career included service in the state House of Representatives from 1999 through 2002, and he was elected to represent District 29 in the state Senate in 2021.
State Sen. Phillip Wheeler described Turner as a “fervent Christian” and “one of the most generous people I have ever met.”
Because Turner died so close to the November 5 election, his name will remain on the general election ballot. His only challenger, an Independent, had already withdrawn from the race. Write-in candidates have until Friday to file for the seat, or a special election will be held.
Turner is survived by his wife, three children, and grandchildren.