Carrie Wiggins woke up to a missed phone call and devastating news Tuesday morning — a truck driver had fallen asleep behind the wheel and crashed into the Lazy-U Motel.
“The accident was heart- and spirit-shattering,” said Wiggins, who purchased the motel, a landmark in tiny Broadwater, in June 2022 to renovate.
Early Tuesday, Carrie Wiggins woke up to devastating news — a truck driver had fallen asleep behind the wheel and crashed into the Lazy-U Motel she was in the process of renovating in Broadwater in western Nebraska.
“We were really starting to see light at the end of the tunnel and excited to see some finalized improvements, then the accident kinda knocked the wind out of us,” she said. “It’s a major setback of redoing what we already did on a much bigger scale.”
Morrill County Sheriff Milo Cardenas said the building was unoccupied at the time of the crash. The driver caused an unknown but large amount of damages to both the building’s front office and utility poles.
Wiggins is no stranger to the restoration process. In 2004, she bought Broadwater’s community hall and turned it into a bar and grill. Wiggins also led the campaign to save the town’s school buildings — one has been converted into the Village Office and funds are being raised to restore the other.
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“There are a handful of us locals who don’t want to see the town turn into vacant lots,” she said. “We believe the history and structures are worth saving for the next generation.”
The Lazy-U Motel, which sits along U.S. 26 halfway between Scottsbluff and Ogallala, is a historical landmark and the most photographed building in Broadwater, a town of about 100 people.
It’s one of the first buildings built in the original Broadwater business district, with property owners dating back to the town’s establishment in 1909.
Notable owners of the historic motel include the Schull family, which opened the building as the Schull Motel, and the Brasch family, which acquired the business in 1964, renaming it the Lazy-U Motel.
“It’s unclear when it closed as a motel,” Wiggins said. “In 1993 it was acquired in a back tax sale — this is when the historic rainbow façade appeared — and a few people lived in it from time to time, until it became completely vacant.”
Wiggins said she wanted to fix the motel’s shell and make it usable again. While she didn’t plan to operate it as a motel, she considered converting the space into rented storage units or storefronts.
Wiggins created an Instagram account (@thelazyu_journey_of_a_rainbow) to document the process. She had fixed the leaky roof, cleared out old appliances and carpeting, replaced the old doors and installed new windows.
The Lazy-U Motel in Broadwater is shown in 2021. The oft-photographed building was damaged Tuesday when a semi-truck driver lost control on U.S. 26.
Even after setbacks with rotten wood flooring, collapsed water-damaged roofing and a crash taking out the front office, Wiggins remains determined to complete the renovation.
“Broadwater is not a ghost town,” she said. “We work hard every day to keep it thriving. … We have a town celebration once a year, and are surrounded by neighborhood farmers and ranchers who help support the village economy.”
Top Journal Star photos for January 2023
Nebraska Supreme Court Chief Justice Michael Heavican (left) swears in the new senators for 2023, on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, at Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln.
Sen. John Fredrickson shows his son, Leon, the inside of the west wing on the first day of the 2023 Legislature on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023, at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln.
Kristina Konecko, an administrative aide for Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte, boxes up items at his old desk Tuesday at the Capitol. The new session begins Wednesday.
Gov. Jim Pillen shakes hands with Senator Tony Vargas after the inauguration ceremony for the governor on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023, at Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln.
A camera flash illuminates the newly elected Gov. Jim Pillen (center left) as he is escorted through the rotunda to the West Chamber to be sworn in on Thursday at Capitol in Lincoln.
Milford’s Izzy Yeackley (left) grabs a rebound in front of Malcolm’s Emma Brown on Thursday in Malcolm.
Tell Hanes (left) of the Waverly Fire Department and Southeast Rural Fire’s Trey Wayne jump over freezing water to high-five while practicing surface ice rescues Friday at Holmes Lake. “We try to run these trainings for both our students and local first responders to make sure they are ready in case anything real happens,” said Andrew Saunders, of the International Rescue and Relief program at Union College.
Lincoln Southeast’s Kaitlyn Freudenberg (from left) tries to hold onto the ball against Lincoln Southwest’s Brinly Christensen and Aniya Seymore on Friday at Lincoln Southwest.
Nebraska’s Brock Hardy (right) wrestles Minnesota’s Jakob Bergeland in the 141-pound match, Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, at the Devaney Center.
Parkview Christian’s Isabella Minatti (middle, right) is fouled against Johnson-Brock during a MUDECAS Tournament semifinal game Thursday at Beatrice Auditorium.
Nebraska’s Derrick Walker is introduced before the Illnois game, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023, at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
A truck passes over an icy Platte River along U.S. 6 on Friday near Ashland. Friday’s temperature failed to get above freezing, but the forecast for Saturday and Sunday is much better, with temperatures in the high 40s and low 50s before precipitation chances Sunday night and Monday.
Ohio State’s Rebeka Mikulášiková collides with Nebraska’s Maddie Krull as they battle for the ball underneath the rim in the third quarter Saturday at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
Kyrie Kelley-Johnson, son of Lincoln High head coach Dominique Kelley-Johnson, tries to keep the attention of the players while the Links stretch before their game Saturday at Lincoln High.
Oscar and Yenifer Contreras, (left to right) both family workers, enjoy some of the food they made before lunch on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, at Restaurante & Bar Sabor Latino in Lincoln.
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