u/Tennyson-Pesco

So at the weekend our car broke down. The serpentine belt snapped as we were on the motorway, which pinged into the timing belt and made it jump. I'm guessing the engine is as good as dead. It won't fire up anymore so it needed towing

We got to the garage and had to park the car up out of the way. I was going to help the mechanic push the car but he said he could do it himself. He got in the car and turned the engine over, which I thought was strange because it doesn't fire up. But then, he must have lifted the clutch as it was turning over to make the car jolt and roll back a bit. He did this multiple times, maybe like five times, to do the whole manoeuvre

All the while I thought, if the engine wasn't actually dead and did have some hope, then surely it's a bit fucked now? I have never seen this before or anyone do it for that matter. Just wondering whether this is a normal way of moving a car?