Key West police are seeking two suspects in connection with an early Tuesday morning beating on Duval Street that sent a 43-year-old homeless man to a Miami hospital by helicopter.

Kenneth Fleming of Key West remained at the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, a spokeswoman there said Wednesday. His condition wasn't released.

Police said Fleming's face was badly battered and he lost teeth in an attack by two men in their early 20s in the 400 block of Duval about 2:20 a.m. Tuesday.

Someone flagged a police cruiser over to the scene, and an officer arrived to find an unconscious, bruised Fleming on the sidewalk. A paramedic arrived to begin treating his injuries.

Fleming was walking along Duval Street with a friend, Myron Fred Makris, when two white males with brown hair zoomed by on yellow scooters, police reported.

"Makris said he yelled at the unknown males to, 'Slow down, a--holes,'" according to the police incident report.

The scooter drivers responded by turning around, parking their bikes and walking up to Fleming and Makris, two witnesses told police.

One of the males identified himself as "Philip Compton," according to Makris, 42, whom police identified as a homeless man originally from Cleveland.

Both scooter drivers attacked Fleming, throwing punches that knocked him to the ground, where they continued striking him in the face many times, witnesses said.

Both then took off on their scooters.

A third witness confirmed Makris' account for police.

Fleming's injuries required doctors to send him to Miami by helicopter. But due to rough weather, the trip couldn't happen until later in the day.

gfilosa@keysnews.com