EL CAJON, Calif. -- An East County man was fatally injured in front of his 2-and-a-half-year-old daughter Monday when a big rig crashed into his back yard and struck him as he was cleaning his swimming pool, authorities reported.

The trucker lost control of the westbound semi when a Ford Windstar minivan crashed into it at Dehesa Road and Granite Hills Drive in El Cajon about 10:45 a.m., city spokeswoman Monica Zech said.

The commercial vehicle hit another car, then careened through a fence and into a residential yard, where it knocked casino employee Kevin Vicary, 38, into his pool and crashed partway into the water behind him.

Passers-by pulled Vicary out of the pool, and medics took him to Sharp Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later, according to the county medical examiner's office.

Vicary's daughter was unharmed.

The truck driver and several occupants of one of the autos involved in the accident suffered bruises, scrapes and other minor injuries. A fourth vehicle with a student driver behind the wheel also was damaged in the accident.

Preliminary evidence suggested that the crash occurred when the driver of the northbound minivan ran a stoplight, Zech said. The woman's name was not immediately released.

Police closed traffic lanes in the area to allow for investigations and cleanup. A traffic alert was in effect in the area until early evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.

A hazardous-materials team from the city of San Diego was called in to clean up the Vicary family's pool, which was fouled with oil and about 80 gallons of diesel fuel that spilled from the partially sunken big rig.