Houston zoo photographer says she was fired for helping

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A 17-year-old who was working at the Houston Zoo says she was fired after trying to help a visitor who had collapsed and was struggling to breathe.

Nina Chapa says the incident happened Saturday as she was working near the dinosaur exhibit. "I saw her on the ground, unconscious," Chapa said.

Chapa says she was just trying to be a good Samaritan. "It was an instinct. It was an 'act quick or someone's gonna die'," she said.

Chapa says she immediately called for zoo rangers who are trained as first responders. She tells Eyewitness News the woman, about 20 years old, was struggling to breathe and her family said she had asthma.

She admits picking the woman up and carrying her toward the exit of the exhibit.

As help arrived, Chapa says supervisors told her to go back to work. Only the next day did she learn she was being fired over what she did.

Houston Zoo officials would not comment specifically on what happened but a spokesperson told us all of their employees and vendor employees are instructed not to touch or move anyone in medical distress.

Chapa said she would do it all again if it meant saving a life. "I want to show that anyone of any age can help in any situation," she said.

The woman was transported to the hospital, but because of privacy laws we don't know what happened after that.

Chapa was working for a souvenir photo vendor out of California by the name of Images Everywhere. No one there returned our calls. She admits being written up for other incidents in the past, but she insists nothing serious.