WARWICK, R.I. -- Police in Rhode Island said a man was attacked with an ax in what they're calling a road rage incident.

The attackers were apparently upset that the victim wasn't driving fast enough, police said.

The man, identified by family as father of three Joe Gallagher, pulled up to his home Tuesday after taking blows to the head, thigh and knee and ran screaming, neighbors said.

Neighbors laid Gallagher down and applied pressure to his head with towels.

"He was totally full of blood," neighbor Douglas Fletcher said. "Full of blood."

"I was at my house, and my sister called me up, like, really, you know, upset," said Jennifer McWeeney, Gallagher's sister-in-law. "So I rushed here as quick as I could. And when I got here, they were just taking him away in the ambulance. I saw the blood, and there's a lot, a lot of blood."

Police said it started as a road rage incident. The attackers were apparently upset that Gallagher was driving too slowly.

After landing the blows, Gallagher's two attackers sped off, leaving him to call 911 and drive back home, police said.

"He's a good guy, family guy," McWeeney said. "He's got three kids. He's a good guy. I don't know why somebody would ever do something like that to him."

Gallagher was hospitalized in critical condition.

Investigators said they know the attackers' car and license plate number, and were searching for the suspects.