The NYPD is beefing up investigations of vehicle accidents in which a victim is seriously maimed or injured.
Until now, police have thoroughly examined only fatal accidents.
Critics called for the same attention to accidents that result in death or disability in the weeks or months after the crash.
The city will pay for the added investigations with $400,000 in state grants from DUI fines. The money will also pay for new scanners and 3D-imaging centers that will record and measure dimensions and other physical evidence, officials said.