Eric Clapton’s tragic last promise to his son, who died after falling 53 floors

Many people are aware that Eric Clapton, 79, suffered a devastating loss when his young son died in a tragic freak accident.

However, few may know that the artist made one tragic final promise to his 4-year-old boy.

”If I hadn’t checked the fax, he’d still be alive”

Eric Clapton’s life was forever changed by a devastating tragedy when his four-year-old son, Conor, died in a horrific accident on March 20, 1991.

Conor was in New York with his mother, Italian actress Lory Del Santo, when he fell from a 53rd-floor apartment window in Manhattan. A housekeeper had just finished cleaning when Conor ran past an open window that had been left unlatched — and in a heartbreaking instant, he fell to his death.

“The window had been left open. Eric was on his way to pick Conor up,” Lory said.

“I heard the fax machine and checked it out before going to check on Conor. I walked in just a fraction of a minute too late. He had gone. If I hadn’t checked the fax, he’d still be alive.”

Conor was just weeks away from his fifth birthday when his life ended in one of the most heartbreaking ways imaginable. Clapton, who was elsewhere in New York at the time, rushed to the scene as soon as he heard the news.

“When I told Eric what had happened, he froze solid. It was like he’d just stopped functioning. He didn’t say anything. It was all so unreal. When Conor died, the relationship between Eric and me died,” Lory said.