A well-respected lawyer and politician in Eastern Kentucky has passed away about a month after he sustained grievous injuries in a freak accident while working at his home.

Republican State Sen. Johnnie Turner, who fell into the deep end of an empty swimming pool on a riding lawnmower last month, died on Tuesday at the age of 76 after a "hard-fought battle" following that accident, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

Turner, of Harlan County, was a U.S. Army veteran and local attorney who previously served his Appalachian community in the State House more than 20 years ago and recently returned to the state capitol as a state senator in 2021.

Passed away following a "tragic accident" a month ago

The grim news was first shared Wednesday on Sen. Turner's official Facebook page with a statement that said, "We are heartbroken to announce that State Sen. Johnnie L. Turner passed away unexpectedly yesterday evening. Sen. Turner had been hospitalized following a tragic accident at his home in Harlan on Sept. 15. Our love, prayers, and deepest sympathies go out to his wife, Maritza, and the entire Turner family."

"Sen. Turner’s love for his family, community, and country was unparalleled," the statement continued as it noted his military service and deployment to Panama, where he met his wife, as well as his subsequent legal career back home in Eastern Kentucky that earned him the nickname of the "Legal Lion of the Mountains."

"His work as both an attorney and a public servant earned him deep respect throughout the region, and his contributions to the Commonwealth will not be forgotten," the statement added. "He will be deeply missed by his colleagues, his community, and all those whose lives he touched."

"Johnnie spent his life lifting others"

Kentucky's Republican Senate President Robert Stivers also shared a statement about Sen. Turner's death on the KY Senate Republicans Facebook page, and said, "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. Over the past weeks, his remarkable resolve and strength filled the Turner family -- and all of us -- with optimism, making this loss difficult to bear."

"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."

"Johnnie's deep love for his family, community, and the region he represented will be remembered and cherished by all who knew him and were fortunate enough to have felt the positive impact he made," the Senate president added. "The effects of his tireless work on behalf of Eastern Kentucky families will endure, and his legacy of service and leadership will not be forgotten."

McConnell praised Turner for his recovery work following devastating floods

Also weighing in with a brief statement about the loss of Sen. Turner was U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), according to the Associated Press, as the two politicians had gotten to know each other while surveying extensive flood damage in the state a couple of years ago.

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

The AP noted that Turner, a staunch conservative who strongly supported his region's coal industry, had served in the Kentucky House from 1999 to 2002 and then returned to his legal practice until he was elected to the Kentucky Senate in 2020.

Mad dash for write-in candidates to replace Turner

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, Sen. Turner's name will still appear on the ballot in next month's election, as will the name of his recently withdrawn opponent, David Suhr, but votes for either of them will not count, and Friday was the deadline for write-in candidates to register themselves for a last-minute run for a four-year term in the district.

The outlet noted that 11 candidates, very few of whom have any experience in politics, met that deadline and are now scrambling to spread the word of their candidacy and convince voters to write their names on the ballot, with whoever garners the most votes from the district's 122,000 residents being their next state senator.