Kentucky State Senator Johnnie Turner died a month after being injured in a freak lawnmower accident that threw him into a swimming pool.
Turner, 76, was seriously injured in the Sept. 15 crash outside his home in rural Baxter, Kentucky, and his family said this week that he died after a “tough battle” with his injuries.
Tributes have been pouring in for the lawmaker, who was first elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1998 before becoming a member of the state Senate in 2020.
And because his death comes so close to Election Day, Turner’s name will appear alone on the ballot without a single challenger, raising the possibility that a special election would be needed if he is elected posthumously.
Kentucky state Sen. Johnnie Turner, 76, died Tuesday, a month after he was injured in a freak lawnmower accident that threw him into a swimming pool.
Turner was thrown to the bottom of a swimming pool outside his home in Baxter, Kentucky (seen from an aerial view), and was hospitalized for a month before passing away.
Turner’s fatal accident occurred outside his home while he was driving a lawn mower, however, it is unclear what exactly caused the machine to fall into his pool.
The lawmaker fell to the bottom of the pool and was taken to a nearby hospital before being airlifted to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.
It has not been revealed what injuries Turner suffered, but Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers said in a statement after his death that the state senator struggled for weeks in the hospital.
“Over the past few weeks, his remarkable determination and strength has filled the Turner family – and all of us – with optimism, making this loss difficult to bear,” Stivers said.
‘I will miss my friend; My heart breaks for his wife, Martiza, and his children.’
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell paid tribute to the lawmaker and recalled crossing paths with Turner early in their careers when they surveyed flood damage in eastern Kentucky.
“Johnnie was on the scene, ankle-deep in mud, with his home equipment in tow, ready to help people in Letcher County,” McConnell recalled to the Associated Press.
“That’s what he was: a good man who loved the mountains and their people.”
Turner’s family said he was “especially proud” of his service in the U.S. Army, during which time he was deployed to Panama and met his wife Maritza.
Turner was first elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1998, but lost his seat in 2001 when his district was eliminated in redistricting.
After several failed attempts to return to office, including a previous run for the Kentucky Senate, he won the seat in November 2020.
Turner, an attorney, was previously a soldier in the U.S. Army, which his family said in a statement was something he was “especially proud of.”
Turner’s family said he met his wife Maritza while stationed in Panama and upon his return to the United States, he “quickly made plans to join her in Kentucky.”
“They worked tirelessly to build a life together and raise a family in southeastern Kentucky,” his family said.
‘Sen. Turner soon became known as the “Legal Lion of the Mountains” for his unwavering advocacy for the working men and women of southeastern Kentucky.
‘His work as a lawyer and public servant earned him deep respect across the region, and his contributions to the Commonwealth will not be forgotten.
“He will be deeply missed by his colleagues, his community and all those whose lives he touched.”
Turner’s time in the state legislature was marked by his ardent support for coal and energy policies, and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell described him as “a good man who loved the mountains and their people.”
Turner’s time in the Kentucky legislature was marked by his support of coal and energy initiatives, and he often criticized the collapse of the coal industry and its impact on Kentucky’s economy.
In his last interview with WYMT in August, he vowed to continue fighting government regulations that he felt were crippling the industry.
“This government trying to kill the coal industry is not going to happen in Kentucky, it’s just not going to happen,” he said.
Because Turner’s death comes just three weeks before Election Day, his name will continue to appear on the general election ballot, the Secretary of State’s office said.
He previously faced an independent challenger, but he dropped out of the race in recent weeks, leaving his reelection bid unopposed.
Write-in candidates will now have until Friday to apply for the position; Otherwise, a special election will be required to fill Turner’s seat if he is elected posthumously before the start of Kentucky’s session in January.