Just before midnight, the plane, headed for Van Nuys, California, was racing down the runway when the occupants heard a loud bang. According to the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane was departing from the airport when air traffic controllers saw sparks emanating from the plane. The pilots told the control tower that a tire had blown out and they would be aborting the take-off. Instead, the plane hurtled through the airport's fence, across a highway and crashed into an embankment. "When everything stopped, I tried to get everyone I could," Barker remembered. Barker and Goldstein escaped the plane and ran in circles on the highway. Hearing others yell, "Stop, drop and roll," Barker dropped to the ground and Goldstein helped him put out the fire on his feet. "I was lying next to AM as the plane was exploding, and I was screaming, 'Are we alive?'" Barker and DJ AM were transported to the Joseph M. Still Burn Center in Augusta, Georgia, where they were both listed in critical condition. They were the only survivors of the crash; personal assistant Chris Baker and Che Still, along with the two pilots, had died in the crash. Less than a year later, Goldstein died from an overdose. During his time in the hospital, Barker was in so much pain that he was calling friends, offering them $1 million to help him end his life.