The Belfast bus driver caught up in riots that left his vehicle destroyed on Wednesday night has been in the job for just two years, his union says.
Outlining the horror that unfolded as he drove passengers to the Shankill, Unite's Michael Dornan said they were only let off the bus after the attack began.
He told Belfast Live: "What actually happened was he was driving up around 7.20pm. He was doing a Shankill Road bus and he had passengers onboard.
"Within a split second youths had run out in front of him and, not knowing because he's relatively inexperienced, he stopped the bus and others came each side and started bricking the bus. It's just absolutely horrendous.
"It would have taken a bit of time because they were double glazed.
"There's a video that shows someone saying let the passengers and the driver off. In some way, whoever it was, gave an order [to] let the passengers and the driver off.
"Then they got on the bus and released the handbrake and it started to roll - and they petrol bombed it."
Michael said those removed from the bus then made their way from the scene, but he is unsure where they went after that.
What he can be sure of is the state of distress in which it has left the driver.
"He's not coping very well," he explained.
"At this moment in time Colin is very badly shaken up and a bit distressed about the whole situation. I don't think he ever came into this job thinking it was going to be like this.
"We now have to give him support, welfare and psychological treatment in the hope that he can come back to some form of normality and be confident about driving.
"That is not always the case - there are cases where they are never able to get back," he continued.
"He is only in about two years and never thought in his wildest dreams that something like this would happen.
"From we started to introduce Metro, we came through flag protests and civil unrest - last night's [attack] was taking you back - that was the same as in the 80s.
"The drivers now-a-days couldn't cope with that.
"I started into this job in 1986 and at the height of the Troubles that could have been an occurrence on a daily basis in various areas, we can't go back to that - we have to get those people that represent the people in the areas to find common ground."
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