SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The family of a motorcyclist killed in a collision with a car driven by Bill Janklow (search) has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the former South Dakota congressman.
Janklow, who resigned from Congress on Tuesday, was served with papers at the Minneapolis airport on his way from Washington to Sioux Falls, said Ronald Meshbesher, a lawyer for the family of Randy Scott (search).
Janklow was convicted last month of speeding, running a stop sign, reckless driving and second-degree manslaughter in the Aug. 16 death of Scott at a rural intersection near Trent.
The lawsuit contends Janklow drove "carelessly, negligently and recklessly with conscious and unjustifiable disregard of a substantial risk" when he ran a stop sign and drove into the path of a motorcycle driven by Scott, 55, of Hardwick, Minn.
Scott's family seeks more than $50,000 in damages although the lawsuit doesn't name a specific amount. The lawsuit was filed Friday in Minneapolis on behalf of Scott's mother, two children and a sister.
Janklow's lawyer, Ed Evans of Sioux Falls, did not immediately return a call seeking comment Wednesday.
Janklow, a four-term Republican governor of South Dakota, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002.
He is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday. The judge's discretion on the four convictions ranges from no time behind bars and no fines up to a total of 10 years in prison, 14 months in jail and $11,400 in fines.
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