Advertisement Company owner: Clemson student killed in fall was knocked off mast Funeral arrangements set for Kendell Wernet Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A 20-year-old Clemson University student died Monday after a fall on a cruise ship, but the head of the group he was with says the fall wasn't what many people are assuming.Kendall Wernet was on board the Carnival Cruise ship Ecstasy as a reward for being a high achiever in the Students Painters organization. The cruise line said as the ship was pulling into port Monday morning, Wernet went into a restricted area and climbed the ship’s forward mast. He fell and landed on the deck, according to a release from the cruise line.Miami-Dade police said Wernet fell the approximate height of two decks, which would be more than 20 feet.Wernet was treated by the ship’s medical team, and transferred to Ryder Trauma Center, where he later died, police said.Steve Acorn, who is the owner of Student Painters, was on the cruise with Wernet and 130 of the organization's other top achievers. Acorn said the organization has been taking top achievers on award cruises for 17 years.Angie Culpepper was mentored by Wernet and among the Student Painters on the cruise."Kendell Wernet definitely played a huge part in our life and always will," Culpepper told WYFF. "He will be somebody to always be remembered. His ideas and his encouragement will always be definitely a legacy in our lives."Acorn said he has known and worked with Wernet for three years. He says emphatically that Wernet was not drinking at the time of the fall. He said Wernet and others in the group had seen people sitting on the platform that is up on the mast the night before, and they decided to go up on the platform to watch the sunrise over Miami.He said, “A group of five, Kendall being one of them, climbed to the top of the front mass to watch the sunrise, and talk about how happy they were in their life, and started planning their next journey's, and where the next five years would take them. They had been up there for approximately 45 minutes, just talking about life. There had be no drinking or any drugs involved, during that time, or prior. They had witnessed 4-6 individuals do the same thing the previous night. It was not their original idea, and they thought would do the same for the last night on the ship. These five individuals were just talking and experiencing the night.”"He wanted to stay with Student Painters next year," Culpepper said. "After that,he wanted to travel around the world."Acorn said the other four had laid down. He said Wernet was still standing or sitting up when the radar dish above the platform was turned on and began to rotate, knocking Wernet to the deck below.Wernet suffered a severe head injury when he fell onto the running track on the deck, Acorn said. Acorn said he was called to the ship’s emergency room where Wernet was being treated, but he never regained consciousness.Acorn said Wernet was an outstanding person and an outstanding member of their organization. He said Wernet worked 60-70 hours a week in the summer, and hired peers to work with him and dealt with the public in a business that earned $60,000-70,000 in a summer.Acorn said, “He was the kind of guy, that if you had a daughter, you’d want him to marry her.”Clemson University released a statement saying: "We are deeply saddened to learn of the tragic death of Clemson student Kendall Wernet, a junior management major from Arden, N.C.," said Clemson University Dean of Students Shannon Finning. "Our heartfelt condolences go out to his family and friends, and we stand ready to help them through this difficult time.”Students gathered at Bowman field on Clemson's campus Tuesday night, and held a vigil for Wernet.Culpepper said she and Wernet talked about their faith the morning he died."(We) are really strong Christians," Culpepper told WYFF. "That's one of the biggest things that's given me a sense of peace throughout the whole thing -- to know that God's in control of this."Wernet's Facebook page says he was from Winter Park, Florida and lived in North Carolina. The page also said he was co-founder at The Driven Vision and Regional Manager at Young Entrepreneurs Across America.The Driven Vision website says: "Kendall attends Clemson University where he majors in business management with a minor in accounting. Kendall’s entrepreneurial journey started when he was 18 years old as a freshman where he joined Young Entrepreneurs Across America, a life-changing company that helped him start a business from scratch. This was a major turning point in his life as he realized he had incredible ambition to be successful. Kendall ran his own $80,000 summer business in his hometown of Asheville, N.C. Now, at the age of 19, he has set his sights on running a business producing over a half a million in revenues."A visitation has been scheduled Friday from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. at Groce Funeral Home location at Lake Julian. The address is 72 Long Shoals Road in Arden. Wernet's funeral is set for 10 a.m. Saturday at Trinity Episcopal Church in Asheville.