Firecrackers Blow Hand Off Aspiring Marine

A teenager who was set to join the Marines later this year has lost a hand and a chunk of his leg after illegal firecrackers exploded in his pocket in Oakland.

Nineteen-year-old Josh Myers was at a Fourth of July party Sunday night when he says a floating ember ignited bottle rockets in his back pocket. The flames spread to his front pocket, which held two M-1000s.

(Scroll down to watch the report CBS News Station KPIX-TV in San Francisco filed on this story)

Myers says he realized the powerful firecrackers were about to explode and managed to push a 2-year-old girl out of the way. The blast seriously injured the toddler's leg.

The firecrackers were equivalent to a half-stick of dynamite. Myers says he bought them on the street for $10 each.

He says he planned to join the Marines in September. Those dreams are dashed.

"I've been dreaming about the Marines since I was 13, but at that time it was more important to save that girl," he told CBS News Station KPIX-TV in San Francisco.