SAN DIEGO -- Authorities asked the public for help Thursday in identifying a hit-and-run driver whose car struck a 33-year-old man on Interstate 805 in the Webster area, severely injuring him.

The light-colored vehicle hit Sean Franklin of Ramona shortly before 2 a.m. Wednesday as he was placing flares in the right-hand lane of the southbound side of the freeway near State Route 94 to help several motorists who just had gotten into a collision there, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Medics took Franklin to a hospital, where he admitted for treatment of serious injuries, the CHP reported.

According to evidence recovered from the roadway, investigators believe the hit-and-run driver's vehicle was a white, four-door 2001 BMW 325 or 330i. The car sustained damage to its passenger-side front headlight and lost its right-hand side mirror when it hit Franklin, officials said.

Anyone with information in the case was asked to call the CHP's San Diego-area office at 619-220-5492.