KY Sen. Johnnie Turner dies after lawn mower accident last month in Harlan
Kentucky Sen. Johnnie Turner, 76, an attorney from Harlan who suffered serious injuries in a lawn mower accident last month, died Tuesday.
Turner was injured Sept. 15 when he drove a mower into the deep end of an empty swimming pool at his home, Kentucky State Police said at the time. His death was the result of injuries sustained in that tragedy, according to a Facebook post from fellow Eastern Kentucky state Sen. Phillip Wheeler announcing Turner’s death Wednesday morning.
Turner was taken to Harlan ARH Hospital and then transferred to the University of Tennessee Medical Center by helicopter, where he was placed in the intensive care unit in critical but stable condition.
Senate Republicans said in an update Sept. 25 that Turner was still in ICU but was making improvements, in good spirits and had completed his first physical therapy assessment.
Turner, a Republican, was running for re-election in District 29, which includes Bell, Floyd, Harlan, Knott and Letcher counties.
“Johnnie was (a) fervent Christian, which was demonstrated by his great generosity. Simply put, Johnnie was one of the most generous people I have ever met,” Wheeler wrote.
“An ardent UK Sports fan, Johnnie held numerous season tickets to the basketball and football games and gave them out freely to family and friends. I was both the beneficiary of his generosity and saw countless examples of it during my time in the legislature whether it was buying staff lunch, giving away ball tickets, or listening to him discuss the number of Honeybaked Hams he needed to pick up as Christmas gifts.”
Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, another Eastern Kentucky lawmaker and litigator, said Turner’s passing was “deeply personal” to him, as the two were friends long before Turner became a Senator after winning election in 2020.
“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... 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,” Stivers wrote.
The senator was up for his first reelection bid this November. Turner’s opponent, David Suhr, an Independent candidate from Middlesboro, withdrew from the race Oct. 15, citing his active military status, WKCB in Hindman reported.
In a statement signed by “Team Turner” on Turner’s Facebook page that day, Turner thanked Suhr for his service and wished him well. The post said Turner was “grateful for the many prayers and good wishes he has received as he continues to recover from the injuries he sustained last month. The Turner Family sincerely appreciates everyone who has reached out in the last few weeks for the love and kindness that has been shown.“
While the District 29 seat is considered vacant now, the Nov. 5 general election is less than two weeks away. Both Turner’s and Suhr’s names will appear on the ballot despite being ineligible.
Write-in candidates have until Friday to become ballot-eligible. As long as at least one candidate files to run as a write-in, the seat will be filled by someone who files, Secretary of State Michael Adams’ spokesperson Michon Lindstrom.
Lindstrom said that Beshear could call for a special election, but likely only for the current term ending this year. Stivers would be able to call for a special election once next year’s legislative session begins Jan. 7 if a vacancy still exists and no write-in candidate files.
In addition to his Senate service, Turner had served in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1999 to 2002.
Turner was a medic in the U.S. Army from 1967 to 1969, according to his legislative website.
The Eastern Kentucky Republican won his Senate seat in a closely watched 2020 general election battle. He defeated longtime former senator Johnny Ray Turner by almost eight percentage points. The race drew additional coverage because of the candidates’ near-identical names.
Beshear shared his condolences in a social media post.
“Britainy and I are saddened by the news of Sen. Johnnie Turner’s passing. We send our condolences and prayers to his family and friends during this difficult time,” Beshear wrote.
Adams wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter, that he “enjoyed working with him and appreciated his always courtly manner.”
Attorney General Russell Coleman wrote that Turner was a “true champion for his beloved mountains” in a post.
Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley called Turner “one of the toughest people I’ve ever met.” He also said that Turner’s family, including his wife Maritza and their children and grandchildren, was “like family to me and mine.”
“He was a proud Harlan Countian who loved mountain people and our Appalachian way of life. Serving the people of southeastern Kentucky as State Senator was one of his greatest passions. He was also a wonderful attorney, a former coal miner, a Veteran who served our great nation, and a tremendous husband, father, and grandfather,” Mosley wrote in a statement to the Herald-Leader.
“Johnnie represented this county and this region so well with the grit and determination that was instilled in him by his parents at an early age. He will be profoundly missed.”
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-KY, shared memories of Turner’s involvement in cleanup and recovery efforts from historic flooding that wracked much of Turner’s district in 2022.
“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,” McConnell wrote in a press release.
“That’s just who he was: a good man who loved the mountains and its people.”
This story was originally published October 23, 2024 at 8:14 AM.
