Michael Earl Craven was 44 years old when he died on Sunday, April 30, 2000, after being run down on the southbound Hollywood Freeway in the Hollywood Hills. According to the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner-Coroner, he died after sustaining blunt force trauma on the southbound 101 Freeway south of Barham Boulevard. His death was ruled a homicide, and it is listed as a Los Angeles Police Department case handled by the department's North Hollywood Division.
Craven had come to Los Angeles from Louisville, Kentucky, to make documentary films, and he ran Michael Craven Productions from his home in Canoga Park. Police said he was on the verge of his first major project. Family members told detectives he was close to getting funding for a film on the history of money, the Los Angeles Times reported. He was survived locally by his ex-wife and his 18-year-old son.
Shortly before 11 p.m. on Saturday, April 29, witnesses said, people in a new black Chevrolet Suburban threw eggs at Craven's Jeep as both vehicles headed south on the freeway near Barham Boulevard. Craven pulled in front of the Suburban, stopped it and got out. According to witnesses quoted by Det. Vince Bancroft, "he got out and started to walk toward the Suburban and when he was dead center on the hood, the driver hit the gas and drove directly over him." The Suburban sped away. Craven was pronounced dead at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center at about 1:50 a.m. Sunday.
"His career was just taking off," Bancroft said. "To have it wiped out over a dozen eggs on his car, it's a shame." The LAPD said the Suburban had no plates, a white dealer placard and tinted windows.
In July 2000, the Times reported that North Hollywood detectives had identified a 28-year-old Glendale long-distance truck driver as a suspect after tracking down buyers of new black Suburbans. Det. Mike Coffey said one had been bought with fraudulent identification, and that a search of the vehicle found traces of eggshells and denim fabric on its front. "And we know was wearing jeans," Coffey said. The man's attorney told police he was trying to arrange a surrender, but it had not happened. "It has been a roller coaster in the past few weeks, knowing someone has been identified and not having a person in custody," Craven's ex-wife, Kathleen Barich, said.
Barham Boulevard crosses the Hollywood Freeway in the Cahuenga Pass, near Universal City and Universal Studios, where heavy traffic moves between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley at all hours.
Homicides in Los Angeles rose sharply in the early 2000s, climbing past 600 in 2002, and detectives carried heavy caseloads. Many killings from those years were never solved.
No arrest, criminal charge or court case connected to the death of Michael Earl Craven could be found in news archives or public records. More than 25 years later, there is no public sign that anyone has been held responsible. Anyone who was on the Hollywood Freeway near Barham Boulevard on the night of April 29, 2000, or who knew who was in that Suburban, may hold information that could help. In 2000, the LAPD asked witnesses to call North Hollywood Homicide detectives at 818-623-4016. Even a small detail, such as a name overheard, a vehicle seen nearby or a conversation remembered, can help detectives move a case forward. Anyone with information can call the Los Angeles Police Department at 877-527-3247 or leave an anonymous tip with Crime Stoppers at 800-222-TIPS.
