NIKI TAYLOR returns home following another hospital stay

ATLANTA (AP) _ After a second stay in the hospital, supermodel Niki Taylor has been released and returned to her home in Davie, Fla., her publicist said Wednesday. <br><br>The 26-year-old was riding in

Wednesday, July 18th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

ATLANTA (AP) _ After a second stay in the hospital, supermodel Niki Taylor has been released and returned to her home in Davie, Fla., her publicist said Wednesday.

The 26-year-old was riding in a car that crashed into a utility pole in Atlanta on April 30, leaving her with severe liver damage. Taylor's friend who was driving, 27-year-old James Renegar, told police he looked down to answer his phone and lost control of the car.

Doctors at Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta treated Taylor's life-threatening injuries for eight weeks before releasing her to a private rehabilitation center on June 26.

Taylor was readmitted to Grady on July 6 to have fluid drained from around her liver, said her publicist, Lou Taylor, who is not related to the model. She was released from the hospital again Tuesday.

``Words cannot express the gratitude in my heart for Dr. (Jeffrey) Nicholas and everyone at Grady who worked so hard to save my life,'' Niki Taylor said in a written statement.

Taylor, who is the mother of twin 6-year-old boys, Jake and Hunter, plans to begin physical therapy at home. Her publicist said she also plans to hold a celebrity benefit to raise money for the hospital.