Andover officials removed items left at a makeshift memorial for a five-year-old girl who was hit and killed by a truck while crossing the street in Elm Square last month.
The items were removed Wednesday, a day before the Town was scheduled to hold a community forum on pedestrian safety concerns about the Downtown intersection. Flowers, toys and other tributes to Sindey Olson began collecting on an island in the crosswalk a day after the May 9 crash. A few days later, the town moved the items to the sidewalk.
Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said Thursday the decision came after he and Andover Police Chief Patrick Keefe met with Sidney father, Eric Olson, to discuss “how to proceed with the memorial.” Flanagan said most of the items removed were wilted flowers.
“The Town also offered to put something there that would last longer than flowers,” Flanagan said. “The Town proceeded in a manner that was consistent with our conversation with Mr. Olson.”
Flanagan said anyone who left a painted rock can claim it at the Department of Public Works on Campanelli Drive.
File photo.
Thanks for investigating this! Would have been nice of the town to communicate this to residents ahead of time.