Owner of Madison tattoo parlor started fire, died in crash minutes later

The Madison Fire Department confirmed that the fire at a tattoo parlor Tuesday in the 4200 block of the Beltline Hwy. was deliberately set by the shop’s owner, Ted Heffner, according to a report from NBC-15. 

The fire department, along with the Madison Police Dept. and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, used video surveillance to determine his involvement. Heffner left the Custom Tattooing Arts Studio on a motorcycle and was later killed in a wrong-way crash on the Beltline, near the Seminole Hwy. interchange. The fire caused extensive smoke and fire damage to the shop, with estimated damages of around $300,000. 

Security footage from a nearby store showed Heffner setting the fire before leaving on his motorcycle. The crash with another vehicle occurred just minutes after the fire started, resulting in Heffner’s death. No one else was physically injured in the crash.