Teen Reportedly Loses Out On Football Scholarship After Fireworks Mishap

The Fourth of July is one of the best holidays of the year, but how many stories about people blowing off fingers does everyone need to hear before they start handling explosives with more care?

We've got another one to add to the collection, and this one is a real bummer.

According to KTVU, there was an incident in Berkeley, California, on Thursday that really put a damper on the festivities. 

Surveillance video reportedly shows a group of boys playing football in the street. Nothing too wild about that, but there were also reportedly firecrackers exploding overhead.

You might already have a sense of where this is going…

At about 10 in the evening, there was an explosion off camera that was followed by some of the kids freaking out someone saying things like "What the f--k" and asking for someone to call for help.

That sounds like a terrible scene, and according to police and neighbors, it was. And it gets even worse.

Police say that two young men — whose names were not revealed — were injured in an explosion.

They also said that one of the victims sustained "serious" injuries. According to neighbors, that injury may be so severe that one victim could lose as many as four fingers.

One anonymous neighbor said that they saw this outcome coming from a mile away.

"I took a mental note to myself that someone would be going to the hospital," they said, per KTVU. "And then a big bang happened again, and I started hearing a bunch of people screaming ‘Call 911. Call 911.’ "

According to photos posted by the Berkeley Scanner, police investigated the incident, and the victim who was seriously injured is reported to have been a local football star.

Another neighbor said that the victim was headed to college on a football scholarship.

Man, you hate to hear that. It doesn't sound good, but hopefully, things work out for this kid. 

I mean, NFL linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul made it work and returned to action after a similar injury, but it sounds like this one may have been more severe.

As much of a bummer as this story is, it serves as a reminder to be safe if you're going to be handling fireworks.