Hospitalized Taylor Eager to Go Home
May 14 -- Supermodel Niki Taylor is still in critical condition after sustaining internal injuries in an April 29 car crash, but relatives say her progress is giving them hope.
Taylor, 26, is apparently on the mend in the intensive care unit of Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital. "I talked to my sister [Barbara Taylor, Niki's mother] last night and she said Niki's doing great," Taylor's aunt, Mary Eaton, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday. "She can't talk because she's on a respirator, but she's able to point to a signboard to communicate with the family. She told them she wants to go home."
The Cover Girl model underwent hours of surgery on her lungs and liver after losing "extensive amounts of blood" in the crash, according to Dr. Jeffrey Nichols. A hospital spokeswoman told The Associated Press that Taylor, who is now in critical but stable condition, could be in intensive care for several more weeks.
"We're all optimistic and feel in our hearts that she's going to make it," Eaton said to the Journal-Constitution.
Taylor was the front-seat passenger in her friend Chad Renegar's car when he ran off the road and hit a utility pole after attempting to answer his cell phone. According to Renegar, his 1993 Nissan Maxima only had a driver's-side air bag.
Renegar and another passenger were treated and released after the accident, but Taylor had extensive liver damage — reportedly caused by her seatbelt. Police ticketed Renegar but said they did not suspect that drugs or alcohol contributed to the accident.
The model's twin 6-year-old sons, Hunter and Jake, are currently staying with their father, Miami area football coach Matt Martinez. Taylor divorced Martinez after two years of marriage.
The leggy blonde has graced dozens of magazine covers and cosmetics ads since launching her career at age 14. Her family was dealt a devastating blow when her sister Krissy, also a model, died of complications from an asthma attack at age 17.
Related Stories
ABC News Live