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Former Tennessee State Senator Roy Herron dead after a jet ski accident

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Former democratic Tennessee state lawmaker Roy Herron has died, his family announced today on his Caring Bridge page.

Herron was initially injured on July 1st in a jet ski accident on Kentucky Lake. He was airlifted to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville for treatment.

According to the post, former senator Herron died peacefully surrounded by family after a brief stay in palliative care.

Herron graduated from the University of Tennessee Martin in 1975. He then graduated from Vanderbilt University of 1980 with a joint law and divinity degree, before a career as a businessman and lawyer.

In 1987, he was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives, where he served until 1997. He would go on to be elected to the Tennessee State Senate, serving until 2013.

He was 69 years old.