'Please let me die': Paralysed DJ euthanises himself following horror crash

A prominent Italian DJ has taken his own life with the push of a button at a Swiss suicide clinic after a horrific car crash left him partially paralysed.

Surrounded by his family and girlfriend, Fabio Antoniani, 40, euthanised himself this week following a lengthy battle with the Italian government to bring his excruciating pain to an end.

Mr Antoniani’s standard of life was greatly reduced when he attempted to retrieve his mobile phone while driving, crashing into another car at speed in 2014.

After years of campaigning, the acclaimed DJ travelled to Switzerland in February and underwent a series of medical and psychological tests to determine if he absolutely wanted to undergo the life-ending procedure.

“Please, let me die. I live in a nightmare that never ends,” he said in a video to Prime Minister Sergio Mattarella last month.

His heartbroken girlfriend, Valeria Imbrogno, left a touching tribute to her partner saying, “I wish this night would never end” on Facebook earlier this week.

Joined by activist, Marco Cappato, Mr Antoniani said he reached his final stop without the assistance of the state.

“Finally I have managed to arrive to Switzerland. I have arrived alone, without the help of the State. I will be relieved soon from this hell of pain,” he said in a statement.

With the push of a button, Mr Antoniani received his final wish, administering a lethal substance into his veins.

Flomena Gallo, the secretary of a pro-euthanasia charity, said the controversial process cost just less than $14,000.

“There are a lot of Italians who ask us for information about how to do it. In 2015, 225 asked us. Of those, 117 decided to go to Switzerland and not all of them decided, in the end, to die,” she said.

“Some of them, after some tests and medical revisions decided to come back to Italy. The question is to have the option of deciding for yourself.”