Kentucky Lawmaker Johnnie Turner Dies 1 Month After Driving Lawnmower into Empty Swimming Pool

Mar. 15, 2025

Johnnie L Turner.Photo:Kentucky Legislative Research Commission

Kentucky Legislative Research Commission

Republican Kentucky state Sen. Johnnie Turner has died at the age 76.According toABC News, the lawmaker died after he plunged into an empty pool while driving a lawnmower. The incident occurred on Sept. 15, when authorities confirmed to theAssociated Pressthat Turner had plunged into the deep end of the pool on his lawnmower.At the time, the senator was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to UT Medical Center.On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers announced in a press release that Turner had died following the accident.“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Sen. Johnnie Turner’s passing Tuesday evening, following a hard-fought battle with injuries sustained in his recent accident,” the release read, perLINK NKY.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.Kentucky state Sen. Johnnie Turner in 2022.AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner“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,” he added.Stivers, 62, went on to say that he will miss his friend, adding that his “heart breaks for his wife, Maritza, and his children.”PEOPLE reached out to Stivers for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.“This loss is deeply personal to me, as I have known Johnnie long before our paths crossed in public office,” he said.“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 continued. “His unwavering commitment to the people of Eastern Kentucky—his constituents, brothers and sisters in Christ, whom he so fondly referred to as ‘his people’—was at the heart of everything he did.”According toSky News, Turner served in the US military and the Kentucky House of Representatives. He then became a state senator in 2020 and worked in his legal practice.

Republican Kentucky state Sen. Johnnie Turner has died at the age 76.

According toABC News, the lawmaker died after he plunged into an empty pool while driving a lawnmower. The incident occurred on Sept. 15, when authorities confirmed to theAssociated Pressthat Turner had plunged into the deep end of the pool on his lawnmower.

At the time, the senator was taken to a local hospital before being transferred to UT Medical Center.

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers announced in a press release that Turner had died following the accident.

“It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of Sen. Johnnie Turner’s passing Tuesday evening, following a hard-fought battle with injuries sustained in his recent accident,” the release read, perLINK NKY.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Kentucky state Sen. Johnnie Turner in 2022.AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner

AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner

“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,” he added.

Stivers, 62, went on to say that he will miss his friend, adding that his “heart breaks for his wife, Maritza, and his children.”

PEOPLE reached out to Stivers for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.

“This loss is deeply personal to me, as I have known Johnnie long before our paths crossed in public office,” he said.

“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 continued. “His unwavering commitment to the people of Eastern Kentucky—his constituents, brothers and sisters in Christ, whom he so fondly referred to as ‘his people’—was at the heart of everything he did.”

According toSky News, Turner served in the US military and the Kentucky House of Representatives. He then became a state senator in 2020 and worked in his legal practice.

source: people.com