What happen was that i started the car and waited for a min for the
rpm to go down. then i realized that i needed the keys to unlock the
gate so i quickly took it out, unlocked the gate and put it back in.
When i did so and turned the ignition key, the engine sounded wierd
while turning on, almost like it was about to die out.  I think I
ruined the engine or something.  I was able to drive it home.

I asked someone who was in the car at the time what happened and he
said that I started the engine while the gears were still turning and
they broke off.

Can someone please explain to me in more details what happened because
the car was off when I started the engine so how can the gears still
be spinning?  Were the gears still spinning from the first time I
started the engine? Please explain what has happened. Thanks.