Taylor, a Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue regular whose face has graced countless magazine covers, was a passenger in a car that lost control and hit a utility pole on a winding road early Sunday in East Pointe, Georgia, according to her publicist.
The two other men in the car, the driver and another passenger both identified as Taylor's old friends, were treated and released at a nearby hospital. However, the 26-year-old Taylor, suffered severe internal injuries and, as of Tuesday afternoon, was listed in critical condition.
"Everyone felt she was okay, and then she had severe stomach pains," said publicist Lou Taylor, who is not related to the model. He added that the model's parents, Barbara and Ken Taylor, as well as Niki's older sister were at her bedside at Grady Memorial Hospital.
At an afternoon press conference, the publicist said Taylor was awake but under heavy sedation. Doctors say her most serious injuries were to her liver, but there are no immediate plans for surgery.
Taylor was wearing her seatbelt at the time and was not thrown from the vehicle. Police do not suspect drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash. The car driver has said he looked down to answer a cell phone call and lost control of the car.
Taylor, a native Floridian, shot to stardom at the age of 14 when she landed on the cover of Seventeen magazine. In addition to her famous swimsuit spreads in SI, she has traipsed the runway for the world's top fashion designers and appeared in commercials for Cover Girl and Liz Claiborne.
The supermodel, who's the mother of twin 6-year-old boys Jake and Hunter, was in Atlanta visiting friends for the weekend and was about to return home to Fort Lauderdale to begin acting lessons. (At the time of the accident, her sons were home in Florida with their father and Taylor's ex-husband, Matt Martinez.)
Taylor is no stranger to tragedy. She lost her then-17-year-old sister, Krissy, also a model, to a fatal asthma attack in 1995. Niki had returned to the family home in Pembroke Pines, Florida, and found Krissy unconscious on the floor. Medical technicians failed to revive her.
Reflecting on the tragedy in a interview with Cosmopolitan a few years later, the supermodel said her sister's death had permanently changed her.
"I've been through a lot, but everything has been a learning experience," said Taylor. "It's made me a much wiser, stronger person."
(originally posted at 1 p.m. PT)