Mary Beth Ellis misses her daughter, Sidney Mae Olson, a younger woman who discovered pleasure within the small issues: flowers, rainbows, books, artwork, and being an energetic a part of the group.
Ellis remembers Sidney selecting out the “perfect flower” to convey to her father’s desk on Could 8, 2023. Only a day later, Sidney died at age 5 when the motive force of a tractor-trailer struck and killed the woman, who had a full life forward of her, at a busy downtown intersection in Andover.
Sidney and a member of the family had been crossing a crosswalk on their technique to artwork class, and the stroll signal confirmed that it was nonetheless secure to cross.
Friday marked two years because the tragedy, and Ellis will have fun her second Mom’s Day with out Sidney on Sunday. She and her husband, Eric Olson, are on a mission to honor their daughter’s legacy.
“The hardest for me is that every day takes us further away from the days with Sid. It is so bittersweet,” Ellis instructed the Herald on Saturday, at an Andover recreation advanced the place she and her husband hope will sometime function a motorbike park in Sidney’s identify with a kid-friendly pump observe and mountain bike abilities space, in partnership with the city.
“As a parent, I still love to talk about her,” Ellis added, “bring up the good memories, think about all of the fun times we had together as a family.”
The 47-year-old mom, a former skilled endurance athlete who ranked among the many world’s finest within the Ironman, identified how she and her husband have arrange a free library in entrance of their house in Sidney’s honor.
Their efforts in finishing up their daughter’s energetic and community-focused spirit have been far-reaching via “Sidney’s Rainbows,” a fund that promotes their work.
Ellis and her husband are persevering with a marketing campaign dubbed “Freedom to Move,” which has two sides: advocating for know-how that makes roads and automobiles safer for all individuals and opening entry to secure actions for kids.
“What we have learned along the way is that the technologies that could have saved Sid’s life and can save a lot more lives, and create safer communities, exist,” Eric Olson instructed the Herald.
Instant advocacy efforts led to a slew of street security enhancements within the Merrimack Valley city, together with altering the visitors alerts on the intersection the place Sidney was killed to an “exclusive pedestrian phase.”
Meaning visitors is stopped in all instructions when the stroll indicators are on. On the time of the tragedy, automobiles have been allowed to show throughout a crosswalk whereas a stroll signal was displaying.
Olson traveled to Washington, D.C. final Could for an advocacy occasion with the Nationwide Security Council, pushing for insurance policies and measures to make roadways throughout the nation safer. The chance, he mentioned, opened his eyes to how know-how is the “only way” to alter roadway habits.
Olson is carefully following laws that Gov. Maura Healey included in her finances proposal for fiscal 12 months 2026, which accommodates provisions to legalize the usage of automated pace enforcement cameras throughout Massachusetts. He mentioned the tools in different states has decreased fatalities.
An investigation into the crash that killed Sidney discovered the motive force not at fault, Essex County District Lawyer Paul Tucker introduced in November 2023.
The driving force didn’t face any prison prices. The investigation discovered that the motive force stopped on the intersection and didn’t see Sidney touring on her scooter within the crosswalk beneath.
Sidney’s Rainbows can be partnering with the nationwide group, Households for Secure Streets, in making a state chapter that would offer sources and the chance for households affected by roadway tragedies to advocate for safer streets.
Ellis, the fund’s govt director, continues to guide Sidney’s Rainbow Runners, a program impressed by her daughter’s “love of running and the outdoors.” Youngsters ages 5-13 have found their very own ardour for the issues that made Sidney smile, her dad and mom mentioned.
This summer time, the fund is internet hosting observe races for all group members
Eric Olson remembers the day earlier than Sidney’s dying when his daughter was excited to launch butterflies that her class had been hatching.
“She’d come home from school,” he recounted of Sidney, “and she had this little phrase she’d say ‘You will think this is crazy, but,’ and it was always these little things like the butterflies hatched.”
Because the husband and spouse mirrored on their daughter’s life and finishing up her legacy, their 4-year-old son Ellis performed within the rain, splashing into puddles, discovering pleasure within the small issues, identical to his older sister did.
“One of my fondest memories is that we would be in our room across the hall, just hearing them talk after we put them to be,” Mary Beth Ellis mentioned. “There’s nothing like watching your kids bond and play.”
“She’s still a part of our lives,” the mom added, “and I think forever, she’s going to be a huge part of our lives.”
Courtesy / Olson household
Sidney Mae Olson died after a driver of a tractor-trailer hit and killed her in a downtown Andover crosswalk. The 5-year-old woman was on her technique to artwork class together with her household. (Courtesy/Olson household)
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