Shortly after police said he caused a serious accident on U.S. 19 that left one man with a broken ankle, knee and arm Tuesday, Travis C. Hargrove was in handcuffs, struggling with an officer when he lunged forward, took an ecstasy pill in his mouth and swallowed.

The 30-year-old Largo man is facing numerous charges connected to a series of incidents late Tuesday afternoon during which, according to Pinellas Park police, he drove recklessly, caused a three-car crash and engaged in fisticuffs with a police officer in a Walmart parking lot.

It began about 4:40 p.m. when authorities hurried to the 8700 block of U.S. 19, where callers reported a traffic accident. Hargrove had allegedly been driving recklessly southbound in a silver Audi A4 when he switched lanes and hit a Palm Harbor man's Honda Accord. The Honda eventually crossed the median into the northbound lanes of U.S. 19, hitting a 2009 Ford Escape SUV head-on.

The man in the Honda suffered minor injuries, but the driver of the Escape, a St. Petersburg man, suffered broken bones that required surgery, according to police reports. Hargrove allegedly fled the scene, trailed by witnesses, and eventually ended up at a Walmart Neighborhood Market down the road.

There, Pinellas Park police said, an officer responding to an unrelated call in the parking lot spotted Hargrove in his car. One tire was bare to the rim.

Hargrove fought with that officer, according to police, while a shopper at the market called authorities. Another officer responding as backup allegedly used a Taser on Hargrove.

Inside Hargrove's car, police said, investigators found drugs they identified as ecstasy and Molly. At one point, Hargrove allegedly ate one of the ecstasy pills as officers arrested him, leading to a charge of tampering with evidence.

He faced three charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving injuries, a felony charge of driving with a suspended license, two counts of possessing a controlled substance, and one count each of resisting an officer with violence and violating probation.

Police said Hargrove was on probation for fraud charges. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail on $31,000 bail.