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The 87-year-old woman critically injured in a random shove attack Saturday was identified by her family as a famed voice coach whose students included Blondie singer Debbie Harry.
Barbara Maier Gustern, who was pushed to the ground by a younger woman in Chelsea, remains unconscious with a serious brain injury, her grandson said on Facebook.
Her assailant remains on the loose.
“She has suffered traumatic damage to the left side of her brain, and has been unconscious the entire time,” wrote her grandson, AJ. “She is intubated and we are unclear how much she is able to breathe on her own.
“Should she awake, she will most likely suffer speech problems and may be unable to move her right side,” he said. “It is a very serious injury.”
He said he was “incomprehensibly broken inside” over the senseless attack.
Police said Gustern was walking on West 28th Street near Ninth Avenue around 8 p.m. Thursday when she was shoved from behind in an unprovoked attack.
Her redheaded attacker left the scene, but the NYPD released surveillance footage of the heartless creep and are on the lookout for her.
Gustern talked to The Post about her career in a 2020 report, when she celebrated her 85th birthday by starring in a concert with her former students — including Harry, Heidi Rodewald and Stew.
“I wanted to do something good for the world, and I know the work they do,” she said at the time. “I’ve had some bad things happen to me, but I’ve had a wonderful life.”
A one-time aspiring Broadway singer from Indiana, Gustern went on to become a highly regarded and successful singing coach.
“Do what you can for your fellow human being, no matter how small,” her grandson said in his Facebook post. “Make the time. Preventing needless loss and violence like this starts with us as individuals. We must care more for each other.”
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