Kentucky lawmaker dies after lawnmower plunges into swimming pool

Kentucky state Sen. Johnnie Turner died Tuesday from injuries he suffered after being thrown into an empty swimming pool while riding his lawnmower just more than a month ago.

Turner, 76, formerly served in the U.S. Army as a medic and was an attorney in Cumberland, Ky., before joining the Legislature. The Republican had been in office since 2021, and previously served in the Kentucky House from 1999-2003.

“This loss is deeply personal to me, as I have known Johnnie long before our paths crossed in public office. I will miss my friend; my heart breaks for his wife, Maritza, and his children,” Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers (R) said in a statement.

“The love and admiration I, along with so many others, feel for Johnnie is immense, but I know it pales compared to the depth of love held by those closest to him,” Stivers wrote.

Turner was a community member in the city of Harlan who pushed for legislation to boost the state’s economy through the coal industry and horse racing. Eastern Kentucky once thrived off the coal industry but experienced a loss of business as the country turned to other fronts for energy, The Associated Press reported.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) observed the legislator serving after a flood devastated parts of the Bluegrass State.

“Johnnie was on the scene, ankle-deep in mud, his equipment from home in tow, ready to help folks in Letcher County,” McConnell said in a statement Wednesday. “That’s just who he was: a good man who loved the mountains and its people.”

Before his death, Turner was preparing to run for another term after winning the party’s primary. Kentucky Secretary of State Michael Adams’s office said his name will still appear on the ballot, according to the AP.

“RIP Senator Turner. I enjoyed working with him and appreciated his always courtly manner,” Adams wrote in a post on the social platform X.

The Associated Press contributed.