Eric Allen Brown, 21, right, appeared with his attorney, Brendon Alexander, on Tuesday in Deschutes County Circuit Court, where he was sentenced for his role in burning a Mercedes that struck and killed Kimberly Ann Potter in Bend in April.

One of three men charged in connection with a gruesome hit-and-run that left a Bend mother dead was sentenced Tuesday to three years probation for helping to cover up the accident by torching the car that hit her.

Eric Allen Brown, 21, last month pleaded guilty without admitting wrongdoing to one count each of first-degree arson, hindering prosecution and delivering cocaine.

Because of his cooperation with police, admitted drug problems and lack of criminal history, Brown, of Bend, was offered drug treatment rather than prison, said Deschutes County Deputy District Attorney Mary Anderson.

Under Oregon law, if Brown fails to complete drug treatment, he will serve the rest of his sentence behind bars.

“We’re happy with it because it’s completely within his control now,” Anderson said.

“If he wants to clean up, he can, and if he doesn’t, he will go to prison.”

Brown was a passenger in a 2004 Mercedes Benz when it struck bicyclist Kimberly Ann Potter, 41, from behind on Third Street in Bend in the early morning hours of April 17. The impact dismembered her and left a macabre scene on the roadway.

Investigators found the burned shell of the car in south Bend later that day.

Brown’s stepbrother, Christopher George Goodson, 23, is accused of driving the car and has been charged with manslaughter and leaving the scene. He also faces a slew of other charges, including bringing cocaine to Bend from his hometown of San Diego so he and Brown could sell it.

Goodson traveled to Bend with his father, 51-year-old George Harold Goodson, who was found dead from an overdose of painkillers and alcohol in a Bend hotel in March. He had been charged with conspiring to destroy the Mercedes and reporting it stolen.

Investigators say the stepbrothers and 20-year-old Robert Jennings Battles, of Bend, cooked up and carried out a plan to get rid of the Mercedes by burning it.

As part of a plea agreement, Brown has agreed to testify against Goodson and Battles if their cases go to trial.

After the arson, Brown took off to California with a 16-year-old girl, Anderson said at Tuesday’s hearing. His family convinced him during phone conversations to return home, she said.

Police tracked him to La Pine, where he was arrested with more than an ounce of cocaine, Anderson said.

After his arrest Brown told investigators everything that happened after Potter’s death, Anderson said.

Bend defense attorney Brendon Alexander said that Brown was traumatized after the accident and panicked.

“This was an extremely grisly, high-speed tragedy that occurred,” Alexander said. “It was extremely traumatic. He still has bad dreams about it. He shows extreme remorse even though he wasn’t the driver.”

The oldest of Potter’s three children, 19-year-old Zach Cheney, attended the sentencing with his wife but declined to make a statement.

Brown stood at his sentencing and apologized to Potter’s family and the residents of the city of Bend who were shocked by the crash.

“I wish we could take it back and do the right thing,” Brown said. “Really, at 2:30 in the morning there is no right thing, we should have been home.”

Brown said he is determined to steer clear of drugs from now on.

“Nothing good comes of it,” he said. “I’m just sorry it took something like this for me to realize that.”

Deschutes County Circuit Court Presiding Judge Michael Sullivan also ordered Brown to pay for his court-appointed lawyer, fines and court costs, $1,320 in restitution and to perform 120 hours of community service work.

Sullivan told Brown that he could not drink alcohol or take any drugs without a prescription and ordered him to stay away from Potter’s family and his co-defendants.

“I have no sympathy if you know what the rules are and you fail to abide by them, do you understand me?” Sullivan said. “So, if you want drugs to be a part of your life then you will go away to a state institution.”

Battles and Goodson are scheduled to stand trial in February. Battles has been released from jail on a total of $172,500 bail.