A bus driver with the Butler Transit Authority died Friday afternoon following the authority's cancellation of bus routes due to most of its drivers being ill.

Transit Authority executive director John Paul said Saturday that the transit authority was “very, very saddened about his passing.”

“He was a 38-year-old young man, he was a great employee, and very dedicated to his job,” he said. “It's a shame.”

The driver, whose name has not yet been confirmed, worked with the subcontractor MV Transportation. The cause of his death was not given.

The transit authority announced Wednesday that because all but one of its 10 local drivers were ill, all local bus routes were suspended until further notice.

Read more in Monday's Butler Eagle.