ATLANTA (AP) -- Authorities say 18 Florida schoolchildren were sent to the hospital after a church bus crashed northwest of Atlanta.

WSB-TV ( http://bit.ly/Ol1FGV ) reports that the children were taken to Gwinnett Medical Center after the Friday crash. Police say the injuries appear to be minor.

The children were ages 10 to 16. The group was on its way to a Catholic youth conference at the Gwinnett Arena from Blessed Trinity Catholic Church in Ocala, Fla.

Gwinnett County Police say the vans were traveling in a caravan. A pickup truck that was leading the caravan of vehicles swerved to avoid hitting some debris in the road.

Police say one of the buses hit the truck and the other bus swerved to avoid hitting anyone.