89-year-old comedian recovering after she was randomly punched on New York street

NEW YORK — An 89-year-old comedian is recovering from a series of random punches and a slam to the ground while waiting to cross a street in New York earlier this month.

D’yan Forest said she had just stopped at a coffee shop and was on her way to a swimming pool when someone came up behind her and punched her in the eye. She was lying on the ground in shock when police and paramedics arrived to help her.

“I thought I had lost the use of my eye because I couldn’t see anything,” Forest said. Her vision returned over the next four hours as she underwent tests at a hospital.

Police said Saturday that the female suspect in the July 10 incident had a medium complexion and wore cornrow braids. She was last seen wearing a tank top and shorts with a Jurassic Park logo.

Forest says she has lived in Greenwich Village since 1966 and that nothing bad has ever happened to her, other than seeing the 9/11 attacks from her roof.

“I walk through the village now and I don’t go near anyone. I don’t want to be near anyone,” she said.

Forest holds the Guinness World Record for the oldest working female comedian. She said her first thought after falling to the ground was whether she would be presentable for her nightclub show on July 29.

But she said her eye is healing.

“My eye was all red and horrible. But at least now I can go on stage without a black eye,” Forest said.