William Hamilton, a cartoonist whose work for The New Yorker over more than 50 years was known for skewering the wealthy and the powerful, died on Friday in a car crash in Lexington, Ky. He was 76.

His wife, Lucy Young Hamilton, confirmed his death.

She said he was driving about four miles from their horse farm when he either passed out or was distracted and drove through a stop sign. His vehicle was struck on the driver’s side by a pickup truck, she said.

Lt. Jackie Newman of the Lexington Police Department said the collision happened on a rural road around 2:45 p.m. Mr. Hamilton was pronounced dead at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington.

Mr. Hamilton, who also wrote novels and plays, began his career with The New Yorker in 1965 and was still working there at his death.