SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. — Nearly two dozen students have been released from a hospital after they were involved in a bus crash.

Two Social Circle City Schools buses were involved in a crash Thursday morning, state troopers said.

The eighth graders were on a field trip when the crash happened at about 9:40 a.m. on Georgia 11 in Newton County.

One bus rear-ended the other. The one in front had stopped abruptly due to a crash ahead of them on the highway.

Assistant Superintendent Carrie Booher said 22 students from Social Circle Middle School were transported to Piedmont Newton Hospital in Covington for examination and treated, per the advice of on-scene emergency officials.

Booher said the students were released by 3:30 p.m.

“Most of the injuries were minor,” she said.

Booher said officials from the school system contacted parents of the students who received medical treatment, and staff members met with families as they arrived at the hospital. Other students were transported to school via a separate bus.

In a statement to parents, the school system thanked its counterparts from Newton County School System's transportation department for helping students to the hospital, and thanked Piedmont Newton for its work in triage and treatment.

“They made a stressful situation a lot easier,” the system said.

Troopers said weather was not a factor in the crash despite heavy and persistent rain during the day.

Walton County public safety personnel have responded to numerous crashes Thursday due to heavy and persistent rain. The county remains under a flash flood watch until Friday morning.

Covington News Managing Editor Darryl Welch contributed to this report.