SAN DIEGO -- A 19-year-old El Cajon man delivering newspapers for The San Diego Union-Tribune fell asleep at the wheel and was killed in an early morning freeway crash, it was reported Monday.

Alejandro Catalan was driving west on state Route 52 near Genesee Avenue when his Dodge Ram truck veered off the road around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, went over a guardrail and dropped about 40 feet onto Genesee Avenue, the Union-Tribune reported. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash triggered two more traffic accidents in the same area minutes later, according to the newspaper. No serious injuries resulted.

One of those accidents occurred when a motorist struck a portion of the guardrail damaged by Catalan's truck, and the other happened when a tire from his truck came off and went into another motorist's path, the Union-Tribune reported.

Catalan worked for the newspaper for the past year and a half and held a second job as a cook at the U.S. Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego. His work day began at 3 a.m., according to the newspaper.