2018 New York Laws
VAT - Vehicle and Traffic
Title 6 - Accidents and Accident Reports
Article 22 - Accidents and Accident Reports
603-A - Accidents; Police Authorities to Investigate.

§  603-a. Accidents; police authorities to investigate. 1. In addition
  to the requirements of  section  six  hundred  three  of  this  article,
  whenever  a motor vehicle accident results in serious physical injury or
  death to a person, and such accident either is discovered  by  a  police
  officer,  or  reported  to  a police officer within five days after such
  accident occurred, the police shall conduct  an  investigation  of  such
  accident.
(a) Such investigation shall be conducted for the purposes of making a
  determination  of  the  following:  the  facts  and circumstances of the
  accident; the type or types of vehicles  involved,  including  passenger
  motor  vehicles,  commercial  motor  vehicles,  motorcycles, limited use
  motorcycles,   off-highway   motorcycles,   and/or   bicycles;   whether
  pedestrians  were  involved; the contributing factor or factors; whether
  it can be determined if  a  violation  or  violations  of  this  chapter
  occurred,  and if so, the specific provisions of this chapter which were
  violated and by whom; and, the cause of such accident, where such  cause
  can be determined.
(b)  When  present  at  the  scene of such accident, the investigating
  officer shall also request that all operators of motor vehicles involved
  in such accident submit to field testing as defined  in  section  eleven
  hundred  ninety-four  of  this  chapter  provided  there  are reasonable
  grounds to believe such  motor  vehicle  operator  committed  a  serious
  traffic  violation  in  the  same  accident.  The  results of such field
  testing or refusal of such testing  shall  be  included  in  the  police
  investigation report. For the purposes of this section, "serious traffic
  violation"  shall  mean operating a motor vehicle in violation of any of
  the  following  provisions  of  this  chapter:  articles   twenty-three,
  twenty-four,  twenty-five,  twenty-six,  twenty-eight,  twenty-nine  and
  thirty and sections five hundred eleven, six hundred and twelve  hundred
  twelve.
(c) The police shall forward a copy of the investigation report to the
  commissioner within five business days of the completion of such report.
2.  For  purposes  of this section, the following terms shall have the
  following meanings:
(a) "commercial motor vehicle" shall have the  same  meaning  as  such
  term is defined in either subdivision four of section five hundred one-a
  or subdivision one of section five hundred nine-p of this chapter; and
(b) "serious physical injury" shall have the same meaning as such term
  is defined in section 10.00 of the penal law.