(Portland, OR) -- Police say they didn't break up an illegal street racing event in the city this weekend because there were no life-threatening calls. According to the report, the unsanctioned gathering left the intersection of Martin Luther King Junior and Columbia Boulevards in Northeast Portland blocked for hours Sunday night. While police were aware that the event was happening, they didn't break it up, saying they would have responded if there were specific threats to life. Over the years, there have been several traffic deaths, even shootings, connected to illegal street racing in Portland.