photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Douglas County Judicial and Law Enforcement Center is pictured Monday, Aug. 17, 2026.

A man who seriously injured a motorcyclist while driving drunk two years ago was convicted of a felony Thursday in Douglas County District Court and will have to pay the victim thousands of dollars for medical expenses.

George Donner Jr. was originally charged with aggravated battery while driving under the influence, but he pleaded no contest to attempted aggravated battery, a lower-level felony.

Because the court cited last year’s preliminary hearing as a factual basis for the plea, nothing about the wreck was said in court Thursday. An affidavit supporting Donner’s arrest, however, indicated that Donner’s 2007 Dodge Nitro SUV made an improper left turn into an oncoming motorcyclist around 10 p.m. on July 1, 2024, at the intersection of West 25th and Iowa streets.

Officers indicated that they found Donner’s SUV on its side with a shattered windshield when they arrived at the scene. The motorcyclist was taken to a hospital and was later determined to have suffered a fractured shoulder blade, humerus and rib, along with various lacerations and a bruised lung.

Donner initially denied having consumed alcohol but then told police that he had consumed only one beer at the Paradise Saloon, where he worked; however, according to the affidavit, he failed a variety of field sobriety tests and was eventually determined to have had a blood alcohol level of .101, which is over Kansas’ legal limit of .08.

Prosecutor Adam Carey told Judge Amy Hanley that Donner did not appear to have a criminal record. He said the plea agreement contemplated 24 months of probation and nearly $4,000 in restitution to the victim, among other conditions. Carey said the victim had agreed with the terms of the plea deal.

Donner is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 3.

photo by: Douglas County Sheriff’s Office

George Donner Jr.