Andover Family Honors Late Daughter With Scholarship Fund

ANDOVER, MA — The family of a 5-year-old Andover girl who was fatally struck by a tractor-trailer while crossing the street last week has established a scholarship fund in her honor.

Sidney Olson was walking to art class with her family along Main Street in Andover when she was struck and killed on Tuesday afternoon. Olson's family said in a statement that Sidney and another family member were crossing at the crosswalk on Elm Street while the Walk sign showed it still was safe to cross.

According to reports, the truck driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with police. A spokesperson for the Essex County District Attorney's Office said last week that no citations or charges had been filed and were pending the completion of the crash investigation.

On Saturday, Eric Olson and Mary Beth Ellis, Sidney's parents, announced the establishment of the Sidney Mae Olson Rainbow Scholarship Fund. The money will be used to help fund enrollment at Andover's SHED Children's Campus — where Sidney was a student in the Springboard to Kindergarten program —for those who cannot afford to attend the school.

The fund includes the word rainbow because, according Olson's parents, their daughter had asked for her birthday party to be a rainbow theme because "it's everyone's favorite colors."

“We're grateful for the outpouring of love and support for our family and friends after the tragic death of our bright-eyed, 5-year-old daughter, Sidney," Olson and Ellis said in a statement about the fund. "Many in the community have asked how they can help, and this is exactly what our daughter would want you to do."

The statement continued: "We've partnered with the SHED Children's Campus to create the Sidney Mae Olson Rainbow Scholarship Fund in her honor. We plan to keep this fund going for years to come to keep her memory alive at the place that ignited her creative and caring spirit.

"Sid sprung fearlessly into every day with curiosity, creativity, and love for her community. She wanted nothing more than for people to come together in shared experiences — in nature, in the classroom, anywhere."

SHED Children's Campus is collecting donations through a scholarship-specific site. According to Olson and Ellis, the donations will be used for students in the school's pre-K, kindergarten and school-age programs.