Dead cruise passenger ID'd as Clemson student

ARDEN, N.C. — A Clemson student from Buncombe County died after falling from the mast of a cruise ship.

Law enforcement in Miami-Dade, Florida said Kendall Wernet, 20, fell about 20 feet.

Wernet was on a Student Painters company awards cruise to the Bahamas.

Owner of Student Painters, Steve Acorn, told Channel 9's sister station, WLOS, that Werner and four others had climbed the forward-mast of the ship to sit on the radar platform and watch the sunrise on return to Florida.

Acorn says that's when the radar-antenna engaged, which knocked Kendall to the deck below. The on-board medical team could not save him, and he later died at the hospital.

Wernet, of Arden, graduated from TC Roberson in 2012 and was a stand-out student, athlete and member of the band.

"It is so sad to know that somebody like that, who was so positive and such a bright star, is no longer with us." Mike Wilson, Wernet's former band director, said. "[Kendall] always wanted to do his best, wanting to learn, wanting to do more, pushing himself to be the best at whatever he did."

Outside of the band room, Wernet was captain of both the cross-country and track teams and a member of the National Honor Society. In a statement, Clemson officials said Wernet was a junior management major.

Acorn was on the cruise and said no drugs or alcohol were involved. He said the students had seen other passengers climb that same mast to get a good view.

Police in Florida have ruled his death accidental.

WSOC