Family of Alabama man killed in flash flooding remembering him as a hero

CLEBURNE COUNTY, Ala. (WIAT) — The family of a Cleburne County man who was killed in flash flooding Sunday is remembering him as a hero.

The Turkey Heaven Volunteer Fire Department says Cohen Turner, 22, drowned off County Road 41 after the truck he was in was swept off the road. The Turner family said he died a hero.

“For him to do something a lot of friends that I’ve had have done, what we call the ultimate sacrifice, to give your life for another, is a heroic act and something that’s selfless,” said Turner’s uncle Danny Turner. “For him to not have the training or the mindset to do it and just be that kind of a natural person to be willing to make that kind of sacrifice speaks volumes about the true character he was.”

According to Danny Turner, after the truck was swept off the road, Cohen Turner and his friend were swimming to the bank, and he pushed his friend up to grab onto a tree. In the process, he was swept away in the flood waters. Those who knew Cohen Turner said they weren’t surprised to hear about his selfless act.

“My brother was telling me about this under fortunate guy, and I wouldn’t call him by name, but he lived in a small camper, and Cohen arranged to buy him a heater, which as a young man, you don’t usually see that,” Danny Turner said. “That’s someone that’s matured that do things like that. But to go make sure somebody had a nice heater around Christmas, that’s the kind of things he done.”

Danny Turner said his nephew was the biggest outdoorsman — always hunting or fishing — so this news was especially devastating to hear.

“I knew it had to be a lot of circumstances that keep him from prevailing from something tragic because he was a good swimmer. He was smart on his feet,” Danny Turner said. “It was hard to catch him off guard. I kind of expected him to come up laughing saying, ‘That one was close.’ That’s kind of what I expected, but that’s not what we got.”

Not only did Cohen save a friend’s life, but his death is leading to change in the Turkey Heaven Volunteer Fire Department.

“What we are going to implement is very simple stuff,” said THVFD Chief Patrick Nolen. “Personal floatation devices as well as some rescue rope to be able to try to preliminarily respond and if the situation is safe enough for us to make simple rescues like that while we’re waiting on our additional resources.”

Nolen said Cohen Turner was not just well-known in the community but also well-loved by everyone.

“I’ve known this family, I’ve known the Turner family my whole life,” Nolen said. “This small-knit community, while we can’t ever prepare for every disaster, we can try to prepare the best that we can using the situations we’ve been given.”

The family is raising money to help with funeral costs. Donations can be made directly to the Rainwater Funeral Home in cash or check form or you can contact the Turkey Heaven Volunteer Fire Department to arrange a donation through the link here. The Turner family is also accepting donations via Cash App at $dturner2013 or through Venmo at @Kaylie-Turner-7.

“The whole family is taking it pretty hard,” Danny Turner said. “It seems like with a car wreck, this caused this, and you can kind of put a defined what actions caused what. With something a freak act of mother nature and then the circumstances that followed, it makes it harder to understand, I guess, to a degree.”