It seemed like such an innocent and courageous idea - stop a fight before it escalated out of control. It was a decision Jaime Pereira would live to regret. He was driving the night bus near Sewells and Morningside on the night of October 15, 2005, when a group of troublemakers tried to get onboard.

When they got into a tussle, the 41-year-old decided to play peacemaker. But as he opened the door of his vehicle, three shots rang out. The bullets weren't meant for the veteran TTC pilot, but wound up hitting him in the head. He was left blinded in one eye and lost most of the sight in the other.

Until Tuesday, police had no suspect in mind.

A bitter Pereira has been unable to work since that terrible night, and has kept his silence throughout the ordeal that has forever changed his life. But in February 2006, he agreed to talk exclusively to CityNews' Francis D'Souza about what happened and his growing sense of injustice.

"I didn't even really hear it," he remembered. "I just felt it, and then of course I was blinded and I couldn't see anything. I don't understand how someone could be so evil, to shoot someone else in the face. I mean total disregard for my life."

Pereira remains baffled about the motive for the shooting, because he wasn't anywhere near the man who pulled that trigger as he pulled over to let them in. "I didn't do anything to him," he complains, the pain still evident in his voice months later. "I didn't say anything to him. All I did was open the door. I was just there to give them a ride. They were at the bus stop and that was my job."

The married father of a baby girl and a 12-year-old boy is now legally blind. His future remains as cloudy as his vision. He admits that one split second, forever frozen in both time and his memory, has robbed him of everything he wanted in life.

"I'm just trying to avoid people not to bump into them, and I feel embarrassed when I bump into someone," he admitted. "And after something like that happens to you, you're always worried about how someone else is going to react."

But Pereira isn't a quitter and credits the help he's received through family, friends and his fellow TTC colleagues with keeping him going. "All their support has meant that I recuperated this quickly and that I'm on the road to recovery and I really appreciate it all."

Something else he appreciates - the tireless efforts of police, who never gave up on his case and now have a viable suspect they've charged with the senseless and thoughtless crime.