Oct. 23 (UPI) — U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell joined Kentucky officials in saying he’s “saddened” to learn of Tuesday’s death of State Sen. Johnnie Turner after injuries sustained from a lawn-mowing accident.
“Throughout his service to Kentucky and the nation — in the U.S. Army, the State House, and the State Senate, representing Eastern Kentucky’s communities — Johnnie lived his life for others,” read part of McConnell’s, R-Kent., statement on Wednesday.
According to Kentucky State Police, Turner was injured when he drove his lawn mower into the deep end of an empty swimming pool. He was rushed to a local Harlan hospital and flown later to the University of Tennessee Medical Center in Knoxville.
Reports had indicated that he had been making progress in an ICU and had recently finished his first physical therapy session, according to a Sept. 25 update by Kentucky Senate Republicans.
But on Wednesday, Kentucky State Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, announced Turner’s death in a Facebook post.
Turner, a years-long state Republican lawmaker and Harlan lawyer, died Tuesday evening as a result of injuries he sustained in a Sept. 15 accident while operating a lawnmower, Kentucky’s Senate President Robert Stivers, a Republican from Manchester, later confirmed in a statement.
According to Wheeler, Turner was born on Christmas Eve in 1947 as one of 11 kids.
“Johnnie was fervent Christian, which was demonstrated by his great generosity” wrote Wheeler. “Simply put, Johnnie was one of the most generous people I have ever met.”
Tuner represented Kentucky’s 29th Senate district for Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Knott and Letcher counties since 2021. He was a House member in the state’s lower chamber from 1999-2002. He was running unopposed this year for re-election. Prior to this, Turner had been a U.S. Army medic and lawyer from 1967-1969.
“In recent years, I remember crossing paths with Johnnie to survey the damage left by the devastating floods that hit Eastern Kentucky,” McConnell, 82, recalled in his statement.
Silvers wrote how over the last few weeks, Turner’s “remarkable resolve and strength” was a steady presence for his family and legislative colleagues that gave them “optimism, making this loss difficult to bear.”
Turner, McConnell wrote, was “as on the scene, ankle-deep in mud, his equipment from home in tow, ready to help folks in Letcher County.”
On Wednesday morning, the state’s two-term Democratic governor also expressed his grief.
“That’s just who he was,” McConnell added, “a good man who loved the mountains and its people.”
“Britainy and I are saddened by the news of Sen. Johnnie Turner’s passing,” Gov. Andy Beshear posted on X. “We send our condolences and prayers to his family and friends during this difficult time.”
Write-in candidates for Turner’s job will have until Friday to obtain ballot-eligibility. As long as one candidate files to run as a write-in, the seat will be filled by someone who files, according to a spokesperson for Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams.
