If your nickname is Superman, what else could you do if an occupied car is rolling into a canal?

Exactly what Ken Petke did: He leaped from his own vehicle, waded into the water, smashed out a car window with the palm of his hand, and rescued the driver.

"I sometimes believe I can do anything," said Petke, 45, aka Superman, of his Wednesday morning heroics in the 6000 block of Orange Drive. "It's an attitude I have."

The driver survived and Petke — who wears a Superman belt buckle and is known by that nickname by friends and colleagues — received a gash on his right forearm that took 20 stitches to close.

Davie Fire Rescue took the driver to the hospital, said Davie Police Sgt. Ed Smith. He was not identified.

Petke said he was approaching his workplace at Two Men and a Truck, 5850 Orange Drive, about 7 a.m. when he noticed a Cadillac that had pulled off the road and was facing the canal that runs between Griffin Road and Orange Drive. As he watched, the car began slowly creeping down the embankment and into the water.

Petke said he rapped on the driver's window and yelled. The driver seemed to shrug, he said, but didn't otherwise respond.

As the front of the car began to sink and other motorists stopped, Petke said he broke out a back window. But he could not reach the lock to open the driver's door.

Two other passers-by, Fernando Sanchez, 22, and Daniel Lopez, 34, then showed up, police said. Lopez said he used a hammer to smash the driver's side window and all three men were able to haul the 60ish male driver to shore.

Karen Petke said she first thought her husband had been in a car crash. Called to Memorial West Hospital in Pembroke Pines, she found him "laying there with his arm all gouged up."

"When he told me what he did, I was in tears, I was so proud of him," she said. "He's my hero."

Also proud was the couple's 11-year-old daughter Kenni."I had to go to her school and give her a hug so she could see I was OK," Petke said. "She was crying, asking why I did it. I told her, 'Because, Kenni, you have to.' "

Alexa Lanier, manger of the moving company, said in a statement, "Ken has been an exceptional employee and leader at Two Men and a Truck for 14 years."

As for the man he saved, Petke said, "I hope he realizes how precious life is. I just think when someone is in trouble, you help if you can. I'm glad I came along."

mwclary@tribune.com