Inside Aldon Smith's final hours: Ex-49er's friend tried to revive him in truck

[Beringia]

http://archive.today/2026.06.14-120732/https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/49ers/article/aldon-smith-49ers-talented-troubled-ex-pass-22304314.php

Amir Shirazi walked out of his Los Gatos house Saturday morning and found his massive friend Aldon Smith, a former first-team All-Pro linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, slumped over in the front passenger seat of his white Chevy pickup. He thought Smith was asleep, his mouth open, his 6-foot-4 frame slightly twitching. Shirazi said he quickly knew something was wrong. He thought it was possibly a seizure, and then maybe a massive heart attack.

Shortly before noon, Shirazi told the Chronicle in an exclusive interview, he called 911 and summoned former 49ers running back Anthony Dixon to the scene to assist him in CPR.

Less than an hour later, Smith would be declared dead at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose. His cause and manner of death are pending, according to Santa Clara County’s chief medical examiner. He was 36 years old.

Smith’s death marked a tragic end to a life and football career full of highs and lows. On his final day, after recently returning to the Bay Area, Smith helped deliver pizzas to a homeless charity. But his friend said he was financially struggling, bouncing around friends’ homes and waiting for his NFL pension to kick in.

[UpInArms]

1. Tragic

So young, so talented and so troubled