A wild birthday celebration.
A man from Florida found himself in trouble after claiming he was simply celebrating his birthday when he vandalized a taxi in New York City. This outburst followed the Knicks’ dramatic comeback win in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
Saul Vargas accepted a plea deal for disorderly conduct after being caught on video, noticeably shirtless, as he leapt onto the hood and roof of a yellow cab, ultimately smashing its windshield. This incident occurred amidst a throng of enthusiastic Knicks fans outside Madison Square Garden on June 11.
“I just want to be 21,” Vargas remarked as he left a Manhattan courtroom, reflecting on the chaos, according to the Daily Mail.
“Yes, I was just being a kid, being stupid,” he continued, acknowledging that his birthday excuse was pretty weak. “It was my birthday, and I was just trying to have a good time, but that’s really not a good justification.”
He expressed regret to the taxi driver, Noueddine Bitat, who was directly affected by his actions.
“To the taxi driver, I truly apologize. No driver should ever have to endure something like that,” he said.
Bitat, 59, recounted how, while driving down Seventh Avenue near 36th Street around 12:30 a.m., he was attacked as people rushed his cab.
“The crowd came and they assaulted him. They yanked him out of the cab and even punched him in the head,” Bitat explained through a translator.
During the celebration, Vargas was among a group of enthusiastic fans who climbed onto the cab, with one wearing a keffiyeh and another brandishing a Palestinian flag, shouting “Knicks in five!” while damaging the vehicle further.
Bitat, who experienced a diabetic incident during the chaos, unfortunately reported feeling a lot of trauma from the event.
After the incident, Bitat, originally from Algeria, expressed doubts about returning to his job as a driver, saying he felt fortunate to be alive. “It’s hard to believe a job like this could be so dangerous,” he added.
As part of his plea deal, Vargas was ordered to pay $500 in restitution.
The Knicks, who later clinched the NBA Finals in Game 5 two days later, staged a remarkable comeback, overcoming a staggering 29-point deficit in the final moments of the game.
OG Anunoby, the star of that match, sent fans into a frenzy with his last-second tip-in, following a missed three-pointer from Finals MVP Jalen Brunson.
After footage of the incident circulated online, police initiated a criminal mischief investigation. Vargas, learning he was being sought, subsequently turned himself in before returning to Florida.
