Kentucky State Senator Johnnie Turner, a Republican, passed away on Tuesday after sustaining severe injuries as a result of a freak accident, Senate President Robert Stivers announced in a statement on behalf of the Senate Majority Caucus.

“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 statement reads.

Turner, who was 76 at the time of his passing, was severely injured last month when he plunged into an empty swimming pool while riding a lawnmower, according to a report from Fox News.

“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. 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 said.

Turner served in the U.S. Army from 1967 through 1969 and worked as an attorney before entering politics. He was first elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 1999, where he served until 2002. He returned to the state legislature nearly 20 years later, this time as a Senator representing Kentucky’s 29th District, in 2021.

Floyd County Judge-Executive Robbie Williams remembered Turner as a staunch advocate for the people of Eastern Kentucky, especially when Floyd County was devastated by flash flooding in 2022. “He had a big heart, he was always giving. When we had the flooding over here, he came up from Harlan County, brought gift cards up. We actually went out and drove around the community, and he met people in the community and helped out,” Williams told WOWK 13 News. “We heard about his passing. It’s definitely something that it’s affected all of us.”

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) paid tribute to the late lawmaker in a press release.

“I remember crossing paths with Johnnie to survey the damage left by the devastating floods that hit Eastern Kentucky,” McConnell recalled. “Johnnie was on the scene, ankle-deep in mud, his equipment from home in tow, ready to help folks in Letcher County. That’s just who he was: a good man who loved the mountains and its people.”