WAI'ANAE — An apparent road rage incident turned deadly last night when a bicyclist was savagely beaten to death by three men in front of a convenience store, police said.

The victim was a 47-year-old Wai'anae man who was attacked in the parking lot of the Wai'anae Market on Farrington Highway shortly before 6:30 p.m., police said.

The man was taken to the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center, where he was pronounced dead. His name was not released.

Police were searching for three suspects last night. Police said they believe they know the identity of one suspect, a man in his 20s.

The bicyclist got into a traffic altercation with some men in a car at the Wai'anae McDonald's, police said. After the argument, the bicyclist went to the Wai-'anae Market, about 100 yards away, said Lt. Dagan Tsuchida.

A witness, who would not give her name because she was fearful, said she saw the victim with his girlfriend outside the market. A white Ford sedan pulled into the lot and three men jumped out, she said. They swore at victim's girlfriend, threw her to the ground and attacked the man, the witness said.

She said another man stayed in the car during the attack, which lasted about five minutes.

"They kept stomping him on the head and kicking him," she said. "He was unconscious for most of it. That's what didn't make sense."

The sound of the man's head hitting the pavement "is something that I'll never forget," she said. "I've never seen damage to a human body like that."

The men then sped away in the car, she said.

The witness said the man was alive after the attack but had stopped breathing by the time the ambulance arrived.

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.